The Story of the Flower
by afairdofthedark
Summary: Anyone with a decent amount of common sense knew to leave the infamous Generation of Miracles alone. Sad to say, Hana did not get the memo. OC/GoM, Teiko Days and beyond.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers old and new, welcome to the story! Hope you enjoy your stay!**

 **Warnings: Bad language and occasional episodes of violence.**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._**

 _(Edited on 06/22/2017_ )

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How to Make a First Impression

 _Swoosh._ Imamura Hana flinched. _Swoosh._ She cursed. _Swoosh._ Clenching her fists, she glared out at the court _._ Her team and fellow teammates were in the process of getting slaughtered. The digital scoreboard above the goal showcased their losing game, mocking them all with the numbers 62-14.

It was an absolute massacre and it wasn't ending fast enough.

The girl's black hair was yanked out of its standard neat pony tail, evidence of her intense frustration. Green eyes bore into the opposing teams captain, glowering at the 'high and mighty' red head. Chapped lips twisted into a tight snarl, acting as the only defense against releasing her screaming thoughts. All around, Hana hated the practice games against first-string. They never ended well.

She was promptly yanked out of her murder plots when a tired body collapsed on the bench beside her. Uoya Kazuhiro, the second string point guard, was panting heavily and reaching for a water. Quickly, Hana did her job and handed it to him, watching as the gray-headed sixth year chugged it down. His face was flushed crimson and sweat dripped off of him in waves; even the poor boy's arms were shaking from exhaustion.

Hana reached a timid hand over and patted his shoulder, silently comforting him, "You're doing good out there Uoya-kun. Your accuracy is improving."

Uoya shook off her complement with a snort, "It's nothing to compare against Midorima's. We're nothing compared to— Ow!" his self-loathing was interrupted by his manger's hard pinch.

"Don't talk like that! We'll get there, we will get to their level," Hana's voice rose a pitch with defiance. Uoya looked at her, taking in her determined expression, and sighed.

"Thanks Hana-chan… It's just hard, you know?"

"I know it's hard, but we've got this," she leaned over to rest her head against his shoulder, "I know you guys have potential, it's just a matter of practice."

Uoya began to reply when the shrill ring of the whistle blew out. Directing his eyes to the court, he watched the student referee issue his team a foul. His face twisted into a grimace when he realized the Miracles regained possession of the ball. He turned to complain to his female friend, only to find her missing. Doing a quick double take, he looked back to the court to see Hana walking up to the ref. With a strangled choke, Uoya jumped up to stop her, only stopping when she twisted her head back and glared at him.

"Sadoka-san," Hana's voice echoed across the gym, causing said referee to turn toward her.

"Imamura-san? You shouldn't be on the court," Sadoka looked quickly over at Akashi and winced at the piercing stare directed their way.

"I just wanted to question you about that foul," In only a few steps, she was stood in front of him, head tilted harmlessly. After a moment, Hana closed the distance even further and placed a hand on his arm. Sadoka blinked at her and desperately tried to force down his blush at the unexpected contact.

"What about it?" He asked warily.

"Well, our team didn't earn the foul, Sadoka-san. Kitano-san didn't really charge Aomine-san; don't you agree?" Hana kept direct eye contact with him before placing a hand on her hip, mimicking his stance.

Sadoka hesitated. Had he really misread the call? The interim referee looked between the two players in question. Aomine wasn't paying attention and instead his head was tilted upwards, looking off into space. But when Sadoka looked at the opposition, Kitano nodded in agreement with his manager's words. While the referee thought it over, Hana took it upon herself to seal the deal.

"While your calls are flawless, Sadoka-san, I believe we both know Kitano-san didn't commit a foul," she finished her spiel with a saccharine smile.

"Well, alright—"

"Thank you, Sadoka-san!" Hana cut his sentence off and quickly shook his hand, finalizing the decision. Sadoka blinked again as his mind worked to process the last few seconds. What the hell just happened? Shaking his head, he pulled out his whistle and blew again.

"Foul dismissed, ball back in Second String's possession!" His call was met with several confused gazes, but he ignored them and instead focused on Hana's retreat. He could have sworn he made the correct call earlier…

Meanwhile, Hana mentally chuckled to herself. She met Uoya's exasperated look and directed a smug smirk toward him. Reaching her team's bench, she sat back down, not noticing the first-string captain's stare.

"Way to be subtle," Uoya disciplined as Hana plopped down beside him.

Hana shrugged off his worries, "The Miracles annoy me. Let me get my revenge in peace."

Uoya rolled his eyes, but Hana could see the smile trying to break out along the edges. Satisfied, she looked back at the game before letting out an irritated tsk at Kitano's arrogance. He'd always been one of the more hotheaded players and it seemed her interference hadn't helped that trait. Feeling a firm hand land on her shoulder, she timidly looked up to meet her captains stare. She opened her mouth to explain herself, only to stop as he shook his head with a tight-lipped smile.

"Good job," and with that captain Futabatei walked away. When the tension cleared, Hana released a deep breath and leaned back against Uoya.

"That boy is scary," she whispered. Uoya subtly nodded in agreement and with that conversation, they focused their attention back to the game.

The game ended at 98 to 32. Her team made a small comeback, but it wasn't enough to secure the win for more than half a quarter. Futabatei was currently explaining the next week's training schedule, but since Hana was the one who made it she wasn't too interested in hearing it again. With a quiet wave to her team, she walked off and ventured out the gym.

Making her way onto the school court yard, her steps faltered at the sight of rainbow hair. The Generation of Miracles all stood near the gate, watching as Momoi-san heatedly trying to get Aomine's attention. The rest of the group stood around idly, but none of them exchanged words. The sight was enough to give her pause and Hana stopped walking, not quite in the mood to pass by them.

She debated the pro's and con's for a few minutes before lifting her chin and continuing on.

Immediately the conversation between Momoi and Aomine fizzled out. Inwardly, Hana felt a tad bit awkward, but she tried to hide it. She'd never had direct contact with the first-string team, only observing them from afar, but she had a good idea of their personalities. They were all the rage with the fan girls after all. Avoiding any unnecessary eye contact, Hana passed their little grouping with no problem. She was only about ten feet away when a quiet scuffle began and a voice called out.

"Hey! You're the second-string manager, right?" Hana turned around and looked at the speaker. Momoi-san was smiling charmingly at her, blinding white teeth flashing in the sunset.

"Uhm, yes. My name's Imamura Hana," she cursed her uncertain response and the foolish decision of telling them her name. She was better than this, so much better. It seemed her attitude vanished in the light of the confrontation and Hana began to feel as if she was surrounded by hungry sharks.

"My names Momoi Satsuki, it's nice to meet you!" The pink haired girl radiated a level of extreme happiness. It seemed unnatural for the current conversation, "Your team has improved a lot recently!"

"They still suck."

"Daiki!"

Ignoring their side conversation, Hana replied, "I know who you are. And thanks, really means a lot coming from you." Her words twisted into something bitter and she winced in guilt. Luckily, or unluckily, Momoi-san seemed to ignore her tone and continued on.

"I'm really sorry about that disagreement with the foul, by the way. I'm glad you were able to sort it out," Momoi replied, pausing from her bickering with Aomine. When the other girl's eyes met her own, Hana quickly decided that Momoi wasn't as clueless as she appeared.

"Yes, Sadoka-san was very understanding," Hana smiled, but it slipped into a smirk at Aomine's glare. It was a well-known fact among her teammates that she'd always had a passive-aggressive streak, she just wished it would choose a different time to show its presence. Maybe sometime when she wasn't surrounded; that'd be good.

"How'd you do that?" Aomine demanded before Momoi could respond.

"Do what?" Hana decided it was safer to play dumb, especially with the rest of his team around.

Aomine's eyes narrowed at her attitude, "The ref had his call right, and you convinced him it was wrong. How?"

"Psychology," well, she didn't lie. It was basically that, combined with her natural talents. Hana had always been able to get what she wanted, a curse and a blessing. Add that with intensive psychology studies from last year and she was basically a first-class manipulator.

Too bad that talent was failing her now.

"Interesting," a smooth voice cut into the conversation, "that must be very helpful to your team?" The red-headed captain's question sounded much more like a statement.

She tried not to make eye contact for too long, but the striking redness of his eyes drew her in, "Ah, no. They don't rely on me too much, Futabatei-san prefers to play fairly."

"Oh that's your captain's name?" Hana bristled at the disrespectful implication leaving Akashi's mouth, "That's a shame."

"Yeah a shame, huh? Anyway, great game today," Hana tried to dismiss him politely, she really wanted to end this little get together without further consequences, "I gotta head home now, so…"

"Akashi Seijuro," the captain spoke, cutting her off.

She twitched, but forced the strained half-smile to remain on her face, "I've heard, you've all got quite the following,"

Akashi smiled, lips lifted almost mockingly, and Hana's smile broke as she sneered back at him. This action caused him to raise a defined eyebrow before addressing her accusation in a haughty tone, "Well, yes. You can understand why."

"Totally," her reply cut across the space between them, "Girls always go for the assholes."

When her sentence registered, she had four glares fixed upon her, all with varying degrees of insult. Only two remained neutral. Her dainty hands rubbing together, Momoi appeared worried and the giant purple haired boy only seemed focused on preserving the last bite of his melting ice cream. The sixth player, Hana thought his name was Kuroko, was nowhere to be seen.

"You should hold your tongue. It's rude to talk to your superiors that way," Akashi's face was deceptively collected, but his eyes were chilled as he observed her. Apparently, she'd pressed a button.

"I'll try to remember that for when I talk to them," she snarked back. Despite her defiance, Hana's heart was beating a mile a minute in the face of danger. These boys were absolutely terrifying and something about them screamed for her to retreat.

"See that you do," Akashi's sharp red eyes scanned her from head to toe before a smooth smirk crawled over his elegant face.

With that final statement, she assumed the conversation was over and figured she might as well make her escape now. Taking a careful step back, she began to walk away and tried to ignore the tingling sensation of being watched. She was only five feet away when it happened.

In a cliched moment of déjà vu, Akashi spoke again, "We'll see each other soon."

Though the statement was vague, it still sent a thrill of icy terror down her spine. As her feet led her away, Hana rubbed a hand over her arms in an attempt to dispel the rising goosebumps. Even if she didn't like the Generation of Miracles, but she could give them props. They were scary as shit.

The walk from Teiko back to her home passed in a blur of anxiety. When Hana safely locked the front door behind herself, she immediately made a cup of chamomile tea to battle her nerves. Her breathing had yet to calm down and even talking to her father hadn't helped. He'd just grinned and repeated the single most annoying line any parent could use.

"When a boy is mean to you it means they like you, honey!"

Well, Hana called bullshit. If anything about that statement rang true, it was probably the fact that Akashi would like to murder her. He most certainly did not want to date her.

Sipping her tea, Hana retired to her desk and reached for the red binder nestled into the corner. After pulling it out, nimble fingers flipped directly to Akashi Seijuro's page. Bright green eyes skimmed down the list of information: height, weight, appearance, hobbies, playing style, and abilities before they finally arriving at the personality section.

Retrieving a well-chewed pen, she made the next bullet mark: _Akashi Seijuro is absolutely terrifying. Avoid confrontation at all costs._

Staring at her untidy scrawl, Hana sighed. She had a sinking feeling that she wouldn't be able to follow her own advice.


	2. Chapter 2

_Warnings: Bad_ langauge _and recreational violence_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._

 _(Edited on 09/15/17)_

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Ghostly Contact

After the intense meeting with the captain of the Generation of Miracles, Hana tried to stop worrying about it. She hardly saw them and she didn't share any classes with the first-string team, so the only time they might run into each other would be on the odd chance their practices overlapped. So far she'd been lucky and everything continued to run its course smoothly.

The relatively calm week passed quickly. Working with Futabatei took up most of her free time and when she wasn't helping her captain, she was swamped with homework. All in all, the week was normal and devoid of any obnoxiously colored hair. Of course, everything changed the next Saturday.

Although Hana didn't particularly like first-string, she still went to all their games. By this point, it was a habit despite knowing the probable outcome. The games were a great chance to gather information on different players and it helped her see what the team needed to work on. Normally, Uoya or Futabatei would come with her, but today both teens declined her invitation.

So, this Saturday she was heading out to the stadium alone.

As she walked to Teiko, her stomach twisted into apprehensive knots. This game was giving her bad feelings, something which she dutifully tried to ignore with each advancing step. Upon reaching her destination, Hana took in the sight. The school was lit up and part of the crowd overflowed into the outdoor courtyard. One green eye twitched as she observed. This was a pretty standard audience for a game, a fact which annoyed her to the core. The first-string games brought in at least a seventy-five percent higher turnout while her team's games struggled to fill up half the bleachers.

The electric billboard at the front of the schoolyard announced the game, Teiko Junior High vs Shoei Junior High. Pausing at the sign, she furrowed her brow and tried to remember the players for the opposing team. Her stomach clenched again. The name stuck out to her, they were 4th in the country, yet she couldn't put a face on the title. Shrugging it off, Hana began to walk to the front entrance with a mental reminder to check her binder for more information.

When she got inside, she realized how packed the stadium truly was. People milled about in waves under the bright lights. As they settled, she noted the lack of seating. The only rows available were located at the highest levels. Hana was more than happy with this arrangement; she didn't want to bring any more attention to herself than necessary. Scanning the closest row, she looked for the best seat. There were two squealing girls at the far left side and an elderly man at the right. That choice didn't take too long and old man it was. You know, since she preferred to not go deaf at 13.

The game started soon after she sat down, hardly giving her any time to settle. As minutes ticked down, she winced. If Hana thought facing off against the Miracles was brutal, watching them play was even worse. Their combined force was simultaneously amazing and downright terrible. Analyzing the playstyle closely, she noted it was like each individual played their own game. Only a few seemed to even try.

Turning her eyes away from her classmates and examining the other team, she watched the tall brunette from Shoei guarding Murasakibara. He looked tired, but he refused to give up even with his team's low score. Unlike his fellow teammates, the brunette kept going strong. Hana's lip pulled up a tick. She tried to remember his name, but she only knew that because of the 4 on his jersey number that he was captain.

Biting her lip back into her mouth, she reached into her bag and pulled out the red binder before throwing it open. Fingers flying through the tattered pages, she flipped to Shoei's section and scanned for the captain's name. Kiyoshi Teppei.

After finishing her quick search, Hana returned her attention to the now named Kiyoshi. In the time she'd glanced away, something sharp had grown over the court. It looked like Kiyoshi was speaking with Murasakibara, but both boys didn't appear too happy. Kiyoshi's frown deepened after the conversation ended. It didn't take Hana long to figure out why when Murasakibara's foot slapped into the court and the center upped his pace. It left Kiyoshi in the dust and the Shoei captain struggled to keep up as his legs twitched from exertion. Hana twisted her focus away.

The whole event was excruciating to watch and the rest of the game continued in the same way. Ten minutes later, Shoei lost their speed and all the players looked exhausted, especially Kiyoshi. The fourth quarter had a few more seconds left when Murasakibara turned to Kiyoshi again. Watching the two boys, Hana could only assume they were speaking, but she couldn't tell what was said between them. When Murasakibara turned away, the buzzer went off and his legs finally giving out, Kiyoshi dropped to the floor underneath the goal.

She couldn't stop the press of guilt at the sight of the final score. 148-51.

"That's one monster of a team," the old man spoke up for the first time. With a start, Hana looked over at him and chuckled humorlessly.

"Yeah, definitely monsters."

Fifteen minutes later and everyone was filing out of the gym, but Hana waited a few minutes before following the crowd. The unfamiliar press of people had never been very comfortable. Waiting for the last trickle to go through and scrunching her nose up, she stepped through the double doors.

The sky was dark now and the clouds had begun to drizzle. Cursing inwardly as the droplets clung to her hair, Hana pulled her hood above her head and prepared for the miserable walk home. Her tennis shoes squelched against the concrete with each saturated step. Moving off the sidewalk and onto the grass, she spotted a hunched over figure under one of the many trees. A tiny squeal escaped, but she ignored the terror to focus on Shoei's captain.

He looked absolutely miserable. Kiyoshi's head was buried into his arms and his knees were pulled up to his face. Again, Hana felt the annoying sensation of guilt. It wasn't her problem to intervene in, but the guy looked so defeated and technically it was her school's fault. Still, not her problem. With that, Hana moved on and left the boy to his misery. She'd only walked a few steps when suddenly she turned on her heel and marched toward him. Clearing her throat, Hana waited as the tall boy looked up at her with a distant expression. She wasn't sure what to do, but her guilty conscious was unrelenting.

"Look, I don't know you," She ran a hand over her face. _That was terrible_ , "But I know losing hurts... and I guess what I'm trying to say is, you can't give up on what you love because you lost."

Honestly, that sounded much better in her head. As the silence stretched, she coughed and smiled awkwardly at the boy before getting ready to leave.

"Thanks," Kiyoshi's voice was so soft she barely heard him, but he responded so that had to be a good sign.

"You're welcome, uhm, you should probably find your team though… I'm sure they're handling this about as bad as you are," she backtracked quickly, "I didn't mean it like that! Damn, I'm terrible at this…"

His chuckling caught her off guard, "Yeah. I should probably go do that. Thanks… what's your name?"

Probably should have mentioned that first. A blush crawled up her neck, "Ah, Imamura Hana."

"Well, then thank you Imamura-san," after crawling to his feet, the elder boy hummed and lightly bowed his head, "Kiyoshi Teppei."

"Nice to meet you Kiyoshi-san, and really, there's no need to thank me," Hana rubbed the back of her head, "No one deserves to feel like that, you know?"

"That's right. Well I better go find my team and cheer them up," he sent her a tiny smile and she looked away in embarrassment. He chuckled again before offering his final good-bye and leaving.

As soon as he was out of hearing range, Hana let out a heavy sigh. _That was a lot of work!_ Her guilty conscious definitely felt better, but she had no idea how some people could do that for a living. It was _exhausting_. She glanced at the spot Kiyoshi vacated and debated on sitting down to release the sudden tiredness. Making up her mind, Hana was about to relax into the damp grass when a voice spoke out. She would've liked to say she didn't jump a mile high, but that would be a bold-faced lie.

"That was very kind of you."

"Ah!" She flung her bag at the intruder, but they casually stepped aside. Light blue eyes blinked at her, then looked at the bag on the ground, then back to her.

"Don't do that!" Hana screeched. Her heart was going to explode, she was sure of it. _How'd he get there so fast?!_

"I'm sorry," he didn't sound very apologetic, "I didn't mean to startle you."

Heart still racing, she huffed, "Sure…"

"Anyway, that was nice of you Imamura-san."

Hana frowned with a spike of confusion, "Thank you… how much of that did you hear? And how do you know my name?"

Kuroko Tetsuya stared at her for a moment before answering, "All of it and Kise-kun spoke of you the other day."

"Did he speak highly of me?" her question was drenched in sarcasm.

"No," Hana choked at Kuroko's bland response. He didn't seem to care, "But Kise-kun exaggerates most things."

Hana wasn't sure about that and nervous fingers fiddled with her jacket. She'd admit their first impression could have used some work, "Yeah, he probably didn't exaggerate too much."

"Did you attack him?"

"What?" She gaped, "No!"

"Then he made it sound much worse than it seems it was," Kuroko was still staring at her, his face lacking any speck of emotion. It was pretty freaking creepy.

Trying to ignore the way his gaze tickled her skin, Hana narrowed her eyes in consideration, "… Is that why so many girls have been glaring at me lately?"

"Most likely."

"Well that's great," she huffed in an attempt to hide her flush, "Uhm, anyway… thanks for the compliment thing? And, I should probably say sorry for sort of insulting you and your team." Hana cringed at that; apologizing always hurt her pride.

Kuroko just watched her for a few more seconds, unknowingly making Hana break out into a nervous sweat. He was doing a lot of that and she was beginning to worry there was something on her face. Honestly, she wouldn't doubt it with her god-awful luck.

"Are you hungry?" Well, that wasn't the response she was expecting.

 _What._ Hana blinked, "Sure?"

"I was on my way to eat, you're welcome to join me," and with that vague invitation he turned around and walked away. Staring at the boy's back, Hana's body remained frozen. That... What the hell?

"Imamura-san, if you're coming, please hurry up," Kuroko's voice jolted her back into awareness and grabbing her bag, she rushed into the rain after his retreat.

So, Hana was absolutely confused. This guy was a Miracle. She thought they were all jerks, but he had been surprisingly kind, albeit very blunt. Next thing she knows the guy was inviting her out to eat. That thought alone was almost enough to cause another blush. Whether the flush be out of confusion or embarrassment she'd yet to determine. Still though, Hana hadn't been to a restaurant with another guy since sixth year…

"Never understand… Crazy Miracles… Confusing… What the hell," Hana grumbled under her breath as she stomped up beside her new companion.

Meanwhile, Kuroko was silently amused. This wasn't how he had imagined the infamous second string manager. Kise-kun had painted a very different picture, making her sound manipulative and rude, but Kuroko witnessed firsthand how wrong Kise-kun's impression was. She was certainly abrasive, but after observing her talk with Shoei's captain and her social ineptitude, it appeared to be a front.

As the puzzle grew more complex, he could admit he was mildly intrigued.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! I've been uploading these fairly quickly so the amount of errors might have increased and I apologize. Another warning, it has been awhile since I've watched KNB so I've been supplementing my knowledge with wikia articles. Main point of this statement is some of the canon events may be out of order and I hope that it doesn't effect your choice in continuing to read. Anyway, thank you all! Especially you, secret guest reviewer. _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._**

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Dinner with Kuroko

Walking to the restaurant was uncomfortable. Kuroko didn't seem to talk much and Hana was too uneasy to begin a conversation. Just because this boy seemed kind didn't mean she trusted him. Kuroko was still a stranger to her, and if he was anything like his friends, he would stay that way. Thankfully, the silent player was generous enough to ignore her suspicious energy, but she doubted he even noticed it.

Hana glanced forward to the boy in question, making sure he hadn't vanished. It would be just her luck to be led out into the city, only to be abandoned. This thought suddenly made her paranoid. What if that was the plan? What if this was all some elaborate hoax to get her alone, then off her? She couldn't really imagine Kuroko doing so, but Akashi was a completely different story. The guy was captain… would Kuroko kill her if he ordered it?

With thoughts full of murder and self-defense techniques, she didn't notice Kuroko stop. He had turned around to speak to her when, suddenly, the black haired girl crashed into him. Quickly he grabbed her shoulders to steady her, but released when he noticed her unusual expression. Her entire face was scrunched up and her eyes were screwed shut. Kuroko blinked, was she okay?

"… Imamura-san?"

She squinted one eye open, "Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"Am I alive?"

"…Yes."

"Can I stay alive?"

"I would assume so. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes! Sorry, I swear I'm not insane," she felt her face irrupt in flames. _This is a horrible first-impression!_

Kuroko frowned at her a bit, then nodded; seemingly reassured by something he found, "I was going to tell you we've arrived."

Hana paused, then peered behind him. Yep, there it was. The place was lit brightly and didn't look too busy, signaling that most of the evening crowd had left.

"Your teammates aren't here, right?" she asked. It seemed her paranoia hadn't faded yet.

"No, we don't see each other often outside of basketball," Kuroko responded as he opened the door for them.

"Oh, well thank you again for inviting me Kuroko-san," Hana tried to grin, but it felt awkward on her face.

Kuroko didn't respond; he had walked ahead and was heading toward a back table. She quickly scurried after him. For such a small guy, he was quick! Almost as soon as she thought it he turned to look at her. Could he read minds?! Hana prayed not.

"Is this table alright?"

"Yes!" She winced at her high pitched response.

Both teens took their seat, Kuroko taking the left side and Hana sat across from him. She reached for the menu quickly, needing something to distract her from the tense energy. Kuroko did the same, albeit much more calmly. After deciding on his order, he looked toward Hana, but her face was completely hidden behind her menu.

"You shouldn't be nervous," he couldn't see her face, though, he could practically feel the heat from her blush.

"I'm not," her reply was muffled by the plastic menu, but audible. Barely.

"You are," he deadpanned.

"Okay, so I'm a little nervous!" Hana was saved from further explanation as the waitress showed up.

"Are you ready to order?" The young waitress directed the question to Hana. It was like she didn't notice her companion.

"Huh?" she glanced at the ignored Kuroko, "Yeah we're ready to order. Could I have the shoyu ramen, please?"

"Oh, are you waiting for someone?" Hana frowned at the girl, she was being quite rude.

"Wait, what? No ma'am, he's-"

"I'm here, and I would like the miso ramen, please." Kuroko interrupted, causing the waitress to jump. Hana's frown deepened as she watched the girl apologize. She knew Kuroko was hard to see, but she hadn't realized he was basically invisible.

As the girl left, Hana turned to Kuroko in curiosity, "Does that always happen?"

"Often, but I've grown used to it. What are you doing?" She had pulled a large notebook out of her bag and was writing quickly.

"Huh, that's a nifty talent," she mumbled to herself, ignoring Kuroko's question.

"Imamura-san," Hana glanced up, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, this. Yeah, this is my management binder. It's got all our game plans, team stats, and stuff in here," she explained.

"Why are you writing in it now?" Kuroko questioned.

"I also write down stats for other teams, I've got yours in here too. I was correcting some of my information about your technique."

"My technique?"

"Your little ghosty-pass thingy. I didn't know it followed you off the court," she answered.

Kuroko's lips pulled downward a fraction as he listened. Ghosty-pass thingy? Many people referred to him as a ghost, but he had never heard his misdirection being called such a ridiculous name. It was slightly demeaning, but he choose to look past the blow to his ego.

"You have pages like this for other teams?" He was very curious, that was a lot of information.

"Yeah, most teams only get one page. But the stronger players get their own. Your team has a page for every member," Kuroko's eyes widened in surprise by her impromptu compliment. That was the first time he had heard her speak nicely about the first string players.

Glancing up, Hana noticed his personality change and snorted softly, "Just because I don't like your team doesn't mean I don't acknowledge talent."

"Thank you," Kuroko bowed his head. Looking at the red binder, he continued his questioning, "Do you know everyone's playing style?"

"From the copycat king to the three-point queen. I'll admit I don't have much info on Aomine or Akashi," she offered a startlingly sly smile, "Want to help me out there?"

Again Kuroko was thrown by her personality, what happened to her previous nervousness? It seemed she momentarily switched from being tense to a more mischievous personality. He didn't have a chance to ponder further when a hand laid their food out in front of them. The intriguing red binder was put away.

It was another few silent minutes as they enjoyed their food. Hana was currently marveling at how neatly Kuroko ate; while Kuroko himself was in shock at how quickly the female finished her meal. Both teens swiftly looked down when they realized they were watching one another so intently. The eye contact caused poor Hana to erupt into another volcanic blush.

Hana finished her meal first and fiddled with her hands, the atmosphere suddenly felt uncomfortable again. She didn't know where to look; it was rude to stare while someone ate. But what else was she to do? In her moment of boredom, she picked up her chopsticks and tried to balance them on the table. By the time Kuroko finished she had successfully balanced both.

"Thank you for the meal Kuroko-san," Hana offered.

Kuroko nodded in response, too busy thinking to verbally acknowledge her. He had invited her out so he could get to know the odd girl; but so far it seemed their whole conversation revolved around unneeded pleasantries. Despite the banter from before, they had both retreated into another quiet tension. Honestly, he was getting tired of it.

"Why did you join the basketball team?" He figured a simple question was a decent start.

Hana completely stopped. This was bad, where had that even come from? There was no way for her to answer without totally embarrassing herself! This guy was on first string, that meant he was super serious, right? She figured she could lie. Yeah, she could wing it. That's what she was best at, after all. So with a straight face she looked at the blue haired teen and answered.

"I joined because of a guy," she declared proudly. As soon as the words left her mouth, Hana felt all the blood drain from her face. She was supposed to lie! With an audible _plop,_ her face greeted the table.

He raised his eyebrows at the groaning mess across from him. Well, that was certainly the worst answer he had ever heard. He hadn't taken her to be like Kise-kun's fan base.

"A teammate of yours?" Kuroko questioned.

"He was," she mumbled into the table, "He graduated last year."

"You stayed on the team after he left?" That wasn't normal fangirl behavior.

Although Kuroko couldn't see, Hana frowned, "Of course; they're my team."

"I meant no offense, Imamura-san. I'm just curious. You must have really liked him," Kuroko responded innocently. His attempt at further conversation seemed to have backfired.

"No!" she was sitting up in a flash, "It wasn't like that! Why does everyone think that?!" Kuroko opened his mouth to respond, but Hana marched on, "He was like… my sensei? Yeah, sensei sounds good. He taught me everything; Torio was my inspiration."

"He sounds very nice," Kuroko added on, trying to maintain politeness.

"Nice?" her voice got considerably louder; and Kuroko was positive he saw sparkles in her eyes, "Torio was more than nice! You know that binder I showed you? That's all because of him. He was absolutely incredible; he shouldn't be labeled as simply 'nice'! Without him, I'd be nothing! Torio is a hero to all of us and—"

"Imamura-san."

The table paused into another silence before she spoke, "…. I did it again," Hana whined guiltily, "I'm sorry, Kuroko-san, I tend to go a little overboard sometimes."

"It's alright. It isn't a problem," he lied. It was a tad bit annoying listening to her idealistic speech, but it was a distinct improvement from the awkwardness before. Spotting their waitress emerging from the kitchen, Kuroko considered offering to pay for Hana's meal.

Meanwhile, Hana winced. She could tell he was growing bored with their conversation. Kuroko's attention had drifted toward the waitress, obviously ready to pay. She hadn't meant to go off on a tangent like that; but whenever she started talking about Torio, it was like she couldn't stop. Pulling up her back pack, she dug around the front pocket in search of her wallet.

Finding it behind her calculator, Hana removed enough money to pay for her meal. Sparing another glance at the distracted Kuroko, she removed an additional 1000 yen to pay for his. After discreetly sliding the cash under her bowl, Hana cleared her throat to get Kuroko's attention.

"Neh, Kuroko-san, I'm finished so I'm gonna head home. Thank you for inviting me out," she smiled self-condescendingly, "I'm sorry I'm such a terrible conversationalist."

Kuroko looked momentarily startled at her abrupt departure, but his face smoothed back out into its normal blank mask, "It was no problem, Imamura-san. I hope to see you at school."

Hana smiled again then motioned to the cash, "That should be enough to cover both of us. I didn't see the total, so I apologize if it's not enough." With that she gathered her belongings and headed out the door.

Again, Kuroko was surprised. He watched her leave, her hair and sweatshirt were still a little damp from the earlier rain and he momentarily worried that she'd get sick. Shaking it off, he reached a hand over to retrieve the money, motioning to the waitress so she could see him.

Thinking over their short conversation, Kuroko frowned. He didn't think he had been rude, but that seemed to be the reason for her early departure. Resolving to apologize later, he thanked the waitress and made his own way home.

About an hour later, Hana was located in her bed. Today had been weird, much weirder then her confrontation with the other miracles. Not to mention her encounter with Kiyoshi-san. At least Kuroko was kind, even though they obviously hadn't connected very well. Secretly, she hoped she wouldn't see him at school; just because she wanted to avoid screwing up even more.

Pulling her knees up to her face, she groaned loudly. The day's events had finally caught up with her and she was humiliated with herself. Mentally repeating everything she said today made her erupt into another ashamed blush. She hadn't meant to talk about Torio like that; she also hadn't meant to talk about her binder! Kuroko probably figured she was crazy, and she wouldn't blame him, she sure acted like it.

With a moan, she pulled her blue comforter over her face and tried to ignore the lingering thoughts. Hopefully, she would dream of happy things. Most importantly, she hoped she never saw any of the miracles again. It seemed they brought out the fool inside of her.

It took her several hours to fall asleep that night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you everyone, you guys have made me so happy by making it a favorite or following this story. And my three reviewers, you guys are the absolute best. Thank you all.**

 **Here's another chapter! It took a while longer for me to post and I'm sorry. It's not my favorite and I couldn't seem to get it right, but I hope you guys enjoy it. Final warning, there may be several grammatical errors, if you find a major one please point it out! Disclaimer: _I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._**

* * *

Friendship with a Ghost

Her mission to avoid contact with Kuroko was surprisingly difficult. It seemed the sixth player wasn't quite on the same page as Hana, since the silent boy kept appearing at every given opportunity. She hadn't even known they shared mathematics together until Kuroko plopped himself down in the seat next to hers! For the first few days he hadn't said a word and Hana went from nervous to downright agitated. She finally reached her peak of frustration Wednesday morning.

Hana had been held behind in history when she arrived to math class, five minutes late, and seeing Kuroko sitting calmly beside her desk broke the camel's back. As the door slammed shut behind her, all her classmates turned to stare at her, including a blank-faced Kuroko. Hana mentally snarled, _why couldn't this kid show more emotion?!_ She began to stomp toward her desk before Kuramoto Sensei interrupted her.

"Your late, Imamura-san. Care to explain your reasoning for disrupting my class?" The portly man drawled as he looked over at her.

"I'm sorry, sensei," Hana bowed her head in faux guilt, "Oda-sensei had me stay after class to discuss my last exam grade." She lifted her head up and looked him in the eyes, forcing her bottom lip to wobble threateningly, "That was the first test I've failed. I promise to never let it happen again sensei."

Kuramoto sensei stared at her for moment before sighing, "Ahh… It's fine Imamura-san, just take your seat."

"Thank you, sir!" The black haired teen quickly scurried into her chair and retrieved her notebook, steadfastly ignoring Kuroko's gaze on the side of her face.

The lesson preceded slowly and Hana was bored out of her mind. Her hand began to doodle tiny flowers on the corner of her paper until she ran out of open space. Mindlessly, she debated on getting out another sheet of paper to continue her doodles when one was pushed in front of her. It was blank except for a tiny sentence written at the bottom of the sheet:

 _I apologize if I offended you last weekend._

"What?" She whispered to the blue-haired boy beside her. Kuroko only offered her a slight frown before looking back to his own notes. Hana huffed in return and scrambled out her own reply.

 _You didn't offend me._ She shoved it his direction. He blinked at it for a moment, before responding and handing it back to her.

 _Alright, you just left very suddenly and I thought it would be best to apologize._

Hana let out a groan, unknowingly startling Kuroko and the people behind them. There was no easy way to reply to that, especially in written form. The situation wasn't his fault, well completely, she just didn't know how to act around the boy or what he wanted from her.

"Kuroko," she whispered harshly, "Look, I'm sorry if I rushed off the other day… I just don't understand. Why are you even talking to me?"

Kuroko looked at her, those blue eyes felt like they were searching her soul, before he hummed noncommittedly. Looking back at his paper he let a tiny smile grace his face, "Not many people stand against Akashi-kun, I was intrigued."

"What the hell, intrigued? What does that even mean!" She responded in a derisive whisper.

"That is what I mean, Imamura-san. Your personality is very contradictory, it's interesting," he spoke, "From all that I've heard, one would think you to be rude or maybe even socially inept, yet I saw you with Seiho's captain and it was quite the opposite."

"… So what?" she snorted, "I was nice for a moment, no big deal. That doesn't explain why you're here," she motioned to his seat choice.

"I was under the impression that friends spent time together, this seemed like a good opportunity."

"Friends?!" She spun to face Kuroko, catching Kuramoto-sensei's attention in the process.

"Do you have something to share Imamura-san?" the teacher's voice boomed out and Hana flinched. Shooting a quick glare at Kuroko for not being caught with her, she turned her body to face him.

"No sir, I was just surprised by something. I didn't mean to disturb your wonderful lesson on," she paused and looked at the board, "the algebraic theory behind negative numbers?"

Kuramoto sighed dejectedly, "Imamura-san, we're studying polynomial equations…"

"That's what I meant, sir!" She smiled brightly, "See, it's just a different way of referring to it. It's still an algebraic theory even if it involves polynomials, and you're using negative numbers on the board in example two so it's basically the same thing!"

"…Sure it is," he grumbled, "Thank you for your input, please don't do it again." A chorus of laughs echoed across the classroom, causing Hana to blush. She shot another glare at the amused Kuroko before looking back to her notes.

 _I will not be distracted again!_ She vowed determinedly.

* * *

Kuroko distracted her a total of three more times that lesson. It was sometime around the second distraction that she realized she wasn't as annoyed with him as she had been. The quiet, blunt sixth player had grown on her. Belatedly, she realized that accepting Kuroko's friendship declaration was pr. a really bad idea, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

As the bell rang, Hana began to pack her belonging's up and handed Kuroko his paper back. It had become filled with little notes between the two, most of them focused on basketball and a few on the new restaurant that opened up downtown. He invited her to join him when he went, but she steadfastly turned him down. Their last public outing had not gone well and she was nervous that they'd have a repeat.

"Well," Hana began, "I'm glad we sorted everything out Kuroko-kun," her hands quickly covered her mouth," I'm sorry that was probably too forward…"

Blue eyes smiled at her, but his face remained blank, "It's fine Imamura-chan. Does your team have practice this afternoon?"

Shooting him a bashful glance, she replied, "Mhmmm, we do. I'm assuming you guys do too?"

"No, we had morning practice today. Akashi-kun had an activity to do after school," he said.

"Ah, well that's a downer?" Kuroko raised his eyebrows, "Okay so maybe it's not such a bad thing. I wish second string could take a break," she sighed out wistfully.

"You create the schedule, correct? Why not make one?" He questioned.

"No can do," she snorted, "If we wanted a chance in hell to catch up to you guys, we've gotta practice as much as we can."

Kuroko glanced at her as the duo headed out the door. She had just given his team another compliment, no matter how backhandedly. As they two walked together in silence, he took the chance to really study her. She was obviously tired, her green eyes were surround by darker circles and yet she wore no makeup to combat her appearance. Even the tightly done pony tail she wore was not in its usual perfect condition.

"Have you been sleeping alright, Imamura-chan?" he ventured.

Hana squinted at her companion before laughing self-condescendingly, "Not really, no. We've got a big game coming up this weekend and I've been working my ass off on research and game plans."

"That must be very unhealthy," Kuroko chided.

"That's what coffee's for, Kuroko-kun. See this?" she gestured to a neon green canister hanging off her bag, "This is my life. Deep, dark black coffee."

"… That's not much better," he blinked, "Although the design is very cute."

Hana looked over her shoulder at her drink before cracking a smile. Yes, the little huskies printed on it were adorable. She snuck a glance back at her companion and coughed awkwardly, "Say Kuroko-kun, would you like to come watch our practice today?"

He appeared stunned for a second, but his face quickly smoothed back over, "I'm thankful for the invitation, but I wouldn't want to intrude-"

"Tetsu-kun!" a voice shouted from down the hallway. Startled, Hana shrieked before covering her mouth in embarrassment. Kuroko smiled softly at her reaction before addressing the new voice.

"Momoi-san," a pink flash was all Hana noticed before Kuroko was embraced in a tight hug. She blinked at the unexpected reunion before attempting to subtly make her exit. Keeping her eyes on the pair, she snuck one foot behind the other, silently retreating down the hallway. Noticing movement out the corner of his eye, Kuroko glanced over to Hana only for her to wave a quick goodbye.

Everything that followed happened in slow motion. Kuroko's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but Hana was quicker and spun around to complete her escape. Only to come face to chest with a very tall person. By the time she figured out just who she could have bumped into, gravity took over and sent her to the floor.

Green eyes, surrounded by a rapidly paling face, blinked up at the goliath. It was like looking into the face of the devil as Aomine stared down at her. The tall navy haired teen just looked at her for a moment before recognition spread across his tan face. Deciding that living was more important than pride, for once, she scrambled up to her knees and attempted to offer an apology when he beat her too it.

"Oh. It's you again," he drawled. Aomine didn't appear overly interested in her, instead looking over to Kuroko and Momoi to speak again, "Yo, Tetsu. Satsuki wanted to go eat, come on so I don't have to listen to her nagging anymore."

"I do not nag, Aomine!"

"Alright, just a moment, I need to—" Kuroko cut himself off; Imamura-chan was nowhere to be seen. He blinked for a few seconds before looking around confused. As he looked behind him, he spotted a black and white blur racing back down the hallway. "Ah, never mind. It seems she's already left."

"You were actually talking to her?" Aomine snorted. Momoi gasped and looked around, _Does Tetsu-kun have a crush?_

"Who were you talking too, Testu-kun?" the first string manager probed.

"Ah, Imamura-chan was inviting me to watch her team's practice today," He responded simply before continuing his walk to the exit. He didn't hear the two simultaneous replies behind him.

"Imamura- ** _chan?_** _"_ Momoi wailed.

"That witch?" Aomine questioned incredulously.

* * *

Hana was sweating by the time she made it to practice. The heavy doors crashed closed behind her, startling the few teammates that were already warming up. Everyone sweat-dropped as she held one shaky hand up, her other hand propped against her knee as she breathed erratically. The floor was looking awfully comfortable at the moment.

"Why do you people do this for fun?" she whimpered out dramatically. Uoya looked over to his captain, both confused on what to do. Futabatei shrugged noncommittally, before gesturing Uoya forward. The grey-headed boy's eyes widened and he began to furiously shake his head until Futabatei shut him up with a dark glare.

Uoya let out a huff before stepping closer to his manager warily. He laid a hand on her shoulder and in a gentle tone asked, "What happened Hana-chan?"

"I had to run away," she said somberly, "Too many sharks."

"Too many sharks?" the team echoed, confused.

She nodded seriously, "Blood thirsty sharks."

The team looked at one another, mildly worried, but Futabatei corrected them with a sigh, "That's what she calls first string."

Kitano's laugh echoed off the bleachers, "Sharks! That's a good one, Imamura!"

Hana shot up at the sound of his voice, momentarily forgetting about her earlier traumatizing experience, "You!"

The bald headed boy blinked, "Me?"

"You, the bumbling fool sitting on his ass!" the tiny black haired manager stomped forward, "What have I told you about playing street ball!"

"Oh shit," Kitano moaned, "I knew this was gonna happen…"

"Then why," she snarled up at him," Did. You. Do. It! You know we're facing off against Komagi this weekend! Do you remember last year? They crushed us!"

"It's not like-"

"It doesn't matter if you meant too or not! Because of your stupid decision, and yes it was stupid—shut up Kitano! I don't care how much money you won! Now you can't play this weekend because of your freaking ankle! Not to mention Saiki-san's surgery; that means we've got two players out!" Hana continued to stomp forward as her rant continued, making Kitano tremor; before Uoya wrapped his arms around her waist and forcibly tugged her back.

"Ahaha, Hana-chan, it's okay!" he ducked her well timed punch, "Okay, so it's not super okay! But don't worry! We can just borrow some third-string players!"

Hana turned to glare at the sixth year, eyes turning into frozen glaciers, before letting out a defeated sigh, "Your right, Uoya-kun. Sorry for over reacting everyone…"

The team let out a collective sigh, but Futabatei interrupted the peace again, "The third-string is unavailable this weekend. The only option is first-string." Hana turned to look at her captain in open mouthed horror, several other members sharing the sentiment.

"No! Not them!" One yelled.

"Ugh, man…" Another moaned.

"As long as it's not Midorima," Uoya muttered.

"…But, that's two first string players?" she whimpered, "Who's going to ask Akashi-san for permission?"

All conversation around her stopped. Everyone looked at one another, before all eyes suddenly landed on herself. Hana gasped and turned to Uoya for support but her best friend just smiled sheepishly before stepping back a few feet.

"No, I'm not doing it!" She declared determinedly, fists resting on her hips.

"…" Futabatei stared her down, but Hana stubbornly returned it. The two were locked into an intense contest of will-power, the team nervously watching on behind them. Sparks flashed from her captain's eyes and Hana flinched before straightening her back and throwing out a snarl. The tall male stepped forward until he towered directly over her, eyes shooting out tiny bolts of lightning. One, two, three, four…

"Fine! I'll do it! But," she stabbed at finger at Uoya, "You, the little traitor, are coming with me!"

"What—no! Captain?!" Uoya shrieked. Futabatei stared at him for a few seconds before nodding to Hana's demands.

Hana let out a victory laugh, smirking in Uoya's direction, before her voice turned serious, "Okay then, drama's over everyone. Time to get to work! We'll go over the game plan after practice so don't run off too quickly."

"Gotcha!" the team responded and Futabatei offered her another nod before directing the players to start a scrimmage game.

Hana crossed her arms over her chest and smiled softly. These were her boy's, despite their occasional idiocy and brain malfunctioning. Though, as she made her way to the bleachers reality sank in and her smile started to slip off her face. By the time she made her way to coach she was close to panicked tears.

Tomorrow she had to go ask Akashi Seijuro for help. In fact, she'd have to ask the whole Generation of Miracles for help.

Time to plan her funeral.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for such a late updating, school has got the better of me recently and I haven't had much free time. Sorry for the short chapter, I promise they'll get longer once I get the story onto actually games and plot development. Right now I'm focusing on building a foundation for all the characters and their future interactions. Also, please inform me of any errors! I'm trying to edit as well as I can, but frankly I'm lazy and I suck at grammar.**

 **Anyway! Thank you guys for your favorites, follows, and reviews! You're all the best, like the best of the freaking best. So here's chapter five for you all!**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

* * *

Humbly Asking for Help

Hana hardly slept again that night, which she realized was becoming a terrible habit. Her mind was torn between worrying about the upcoming game this weekend and about how to get Akashi to agree to her proposition. She had debated on the best course of action for hours before finally deciding on blackmail. Now it was just a matter of finding something that would successfully work against freaking _Akashi Seijuro._

The sun had just come over the horizon when Hana forced herself to crawl out of bed. Her cherished binder was laid out beside her, multiple pages dog-eared and memorized for today's main event. A tired hand ran over her eyes and rubbed harshly as her other hand half-heartily combed through her hair. Finally making her way into the bathroom she brushed her teeth and stared at her face. The face that stared back at her did not look prepared for the next few hours.

 _I'm going to die._ She mentally moaned. _I'm so going to die._

The Shogi club room was deserted when she arrived and Hana thanked every deity listening to her silent prayers. She stared at the multiple game sets, chewing on her lip in a nervous gesture, before huffing out a giant sigh. Her feet moved slowly, as if attached to chains, before she stood in front of the set closest to her. With another silent prayer, she picked up the king pieces and dumped them into her bag; the rest soon followed.

She repeated the process for the remainder of the sets before leaving the room as quickly as she came.

* * *

School passed by too quickly and before she knew it she was sitting beside Kuroko in math again. Kuromota-sensei's lecture was going in one ear and out the other as Hana stared at the boring beige walls. She didn't notice Kuroko's curious looks or the way her hand constantly fiddled with her bag strap. She didn't even notice that class had been dismissed until she felt a sharp poke into her shoulder.

"Imumura-chan? Are you alright?" Kuroko seemed to be asking her that a lot these days.

"Ah, yes I'm fine," she smiled half-heartedly at him. Obviously he didn't believe her, judging from the two raised eyebrows that greeted her lie. "Kuroko-kun, you're going to practice now right?"

A slow nod, then he frowned softly, "Yes, is there something you needed?"

"A bodyguard," she mumbled under her breathe before continuing, "Well, you see I have something to ask of Akashi-san and I was hoping to come with you to your practice."

"I'm sorry?" He must have heard her wrong.

Hana sighed, "Can I walk with you to your practice? I need to speak with your captain."

"…That would be fine. If you don't mind my asking, what is it you need of Akashi-kun?"

"I have a favor to ask him," she smiled nervously, "And I'm really hoping he'll agree to my terms."

"Alright, Imamura-chan," he spoke slowly, as if talking to a child and Hana forced herself not to get offended, "Is there anything you need to gather before we go?"

A sudden thought of gray hair had her smirking, "Yeah, that would be great."

Fifteen minutes later, Hana was dragging Uoya by his collar behind her. Kuroko was walking a few steps ahead, but he'd occasionally glance backwards as if to check if this was reality. Uoya, himself, was loudly screeching and yelling out the occasional curse. She had to admit, they must have made an interesting sight.

"Hana-channnn! Nooooo!" Uoya whined, "You can't do this to me!"

"Hell yes I can, you little coward. You threw me under the bus yesterday!"

"That was Futabatei-sempai!"

"It was all of you!"

Kuroko shot another glance at them before commenting drily, "We're here." Uoya shrieked in surprise, having momentarily forgot about the sixth-player's presence.

Sending an acknowledging nod to Kuroko, Hana tugged Uoya's collar closer to her. Her hands were shaking and she would bet money that Uoya was the same. The walk had gone by too quickly; she hadn't had enough time to prepare her speech! Kuroko looked at them, shook his head, then pushed open the gym doors.

"Yo, Tetsu! You're late!"

"Kurochin, did you bring any food? I'm so hungry~ "

"Kuroko? What is this?" Now, that was the voice she'd been fearing.

"Akashi-kun, Imamura-chan and Uoya-san had something to ask of you," well, there went Kuroko throwing her to the wolves. He offered Hana a small nod before heading toward Aomine and retrieving a ball. Momoi was by his side in an instant, making sure everything was okay.

"They did, did they?" crimson colored eyes stared at her, accompanied by a blank mask, "Was it perhaps to apologize?"

"Apologize for what?" Uoya whispered. He had situated himself directly behind her, using her body as a literal shield.

Hana ignored Uoya and addressed Akashi, "Nope, sorry that's not the reason for today's visit. Today is strictly basketball." _And a little blackmail,_ she amended mentally.

"That's not good," the captain sighed out, "I would have been much more accommodating in your requests if I had an apology." She heard Aomine's chuckle in the background before it was cut off by an elbow jab from Kuroko.

"Uhm," Uoya started, "I don't know what's going on here," he motioned between Hana and Akashi, "but our captain asked us to come here to request your permission to borrow some players for this weekend's game."

Akashi glanced at Uoya, causing the sixth year to duck back behind Hana, before continuing, "Your captain could not do this himself?"

"No, sorry. Said he had more important things to do," Hana smiled brightly while mentally biting her tongue.

"Hana-chan!" Uoya gasped.

"It just slipped out, I can't help it!" She whispered back to him. Akashi had his eyes narrowed on the duo and while he wasn't exactly glaring, he wasn't pleased.

"Well," Akashi drawled, "My team also has _important_ matters to attend to this weekend."

"Akashi-sempai, she didn't mean it—" Uoya began but Hana cut him off.

"I thought you'd say something like that," and she was telling the truth. She'd spent at least an hour last night going through possible conversation outcomes.

The basketballs dribbling in the background had stopped at this point and Akashi's frown had definitely turned into a glare. "Is that so?" He mused.

"You better believe it, tomato head," she murmured under her breathe causing Uoya to choke. Akashi hadn't heard her comment, but Kise, who stood by the bleachers, did. The golden haired teen blanched and covered his mouth to hide traitorous chuckles.

"Like I said, I thought you'd say something like that," she pulled her backpack off her shoulder and rummaged through it, "That's why I made a backup plan."

"We didn't talk about a backup plan!" Uoya hissed at the same time Akashi spoke.

"Interesting…"

"You've got an important position in the Shogi club don't you Akashi-san?" She blinked at him innocently, "I know you can probably buy replacements for all this, but that'd be quiet troublesome wouldn't it?"

Dangling in her outstretched hand was the baggie full of Shogi pieces, the florescent lights twinkling off their shine. The whole gym had fallen into silence, she couldn't even hear anyone breathe, and Hana felt a nervous sweat drip down her spine. Even Uoya was quiet, but his trembling had increased ten-fold. Akashi stared at the bag for a few moments before a small smile stretched across his lips. _That's the smile of the devil, I swear it!_ She mentally shrieked.

"You're right," he pondered, "That would be very troublesome indeed."

Red eyes clashed with defiant green and his smile grew even larger. Kuroko watched warily from the court, the basketball sitting unused at his feet. Even Aomine and Murasakibara were watching the spectacle with interest. No one had ever tried to _blackmail_ their captain before. Much less succeed.

"…Okay," Hana coughed uncertainly, "That went better than I expected? So if I give you these pieces back, could second-string borrow two of your teammates this weekend?"

Akashi continued to stare at her, his smile growing into a smirk, "Why yes, Imamura- _chan ._ " The way he said her name was beginning to get on her nerves,"But, as I mentioned earlier an apology would really be appreciated."

"Oh hell," Uoya moaned in tandem with Aomine's snort. Hana's blood began to boil in reflex.

"My apologies, your majesty," she snarled, "How could I have forgotten?"

"Hana!" Uoya hissed in warning.

She glanced back at her friend before shooting him a quick finger and turned her attention back to Akashi. She glared the red-head down before preforming a curtsey, fingers skimming the ground. Her voice rang out icily, "I apologize for not being able to hold my tongue in the presence of such a magnificent…"

"Don't do it Hana."

"Tomato." She finished with a saccharine smile. Uoya groaned dramatically, but Kise and Aomine's startled laughter covered it. She risked a glance at Kuroko only to see him smiling softly at the ground, before responding to a stunned looking Momoi. Midorima was clutching his lucky item and watching Akashi warily while Murasakibara frowned at the redhead; Akashi didn't have a tomato? But the most surprising reaction came from Akashi himself. The captain didn't look too murderous, thankfully, his eyes were hooded but he was still smirking at Hana when the unbelievable happened. He let out a low chuckle.

"You've amused me, Imamura- _chan_. I'll accept your apology for now and I'll have two players ready for your disposal tomorrow afternoon. Do you have any preferences?" he asked.

Hana shared a bewildered look with Uoya, _what is up with these mood swings?!_ Tugging her lip into her mouth she replied, "Don't take this the wrong way… But preferably people who can actually work with a team?"

Uoya slapped her shoulder, "Don't say it like that!"

"I said it the nicest way I could!" she hissed back.

"Ah, so Kuroko would be a good choice correct?" Akashi interrupted smoothly. Said boy looked up at the mention of his name, curious to see who his partner would be.

"Yes, sir, Akashi-sempai!" Uoya responded. Hana rolled her eyes at his eagerness before reluctantly looking back to Akashi.

"Hmm," the captain continued, "It would be a good opportunity for Kuroko to teach Kise too." He ignored Kise's whine, "Expect for both of them to be at your practice tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you Akashi-sempai!" Uoya bowed and forcibly made Hana bow with him. As soon as she straightened up she pushed the sixth year's arm off of her and scowled at him. She turned her attention back to the amused captain and his team, before sighing in resignation. _Come on, swallow your pride for a second._

"Thank you for your generosity, Akashi-san. I apologize," she grumbled the word out, "for our past first impression and for interrupting your practice today."

The knowing smile he gave her in return made her stomach twirl into knots. The rest of the team looked on with various blank looks or their own sneaky grins. Kuroko waved his hand in a quick good-bye with Momoi cheerfully following his example. Kise was watching her with curious golden eyes, flickering between her head and Uoya's before offering her a mischievous grin.

"See you tomorrow," Kise sang out as they left.

With her hand on the door, Hana glanced back over her shoulder to shoot him a snarky retort; but came to a pause when she saw the sly expression on his face.

 _Why do I feel like this is a bad idea…_


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been awhile, sorry friends and followers. Not one of my best, I apologize in advance. Originally, I'd planned on having the game against Kogami in this chapter, but if I had it would of been even longer for an update. I've also thrown in some plot, so the story has something to move toward. Thank you guys for your reviews, favorites, and follows. It means the world to me.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no** **Basuke**_

* * *

Second String Practice

"What was _that?"_ the sixth year grumbled. Brown eyes cut a glare at the silent girl beside him. She was doing that annoying habit, gnawing furiously on her lip, and Uoya could swear she had drawn blood this time. Normally, he'd force her to stop but at this moment in time he was too peeved to do anything other than watch impassively.

"What was what?" Uoya groaned at her response. So now she was playing dumb, great.

"That!" He flung his arms out in exaggeration, "That was not how we do things! Futabatei is going to murder you!"

Hana scoffed, "He started it! Besides, we got two players; you should be happy."

"Yeah, it's great we got the players but you were rude to Akashi and that's gonna come back to bite us in the ass," he snapped back.

"Look, Uoya, I didn't do anything wrong. I covered all the bases and it worked out how I planned it."

His glare softened momentarily, before he shook his head in resignation, "I never knew Torio, but he's not captain anymore Hana. I know he taught you and everything, but Futabatei is in charge now and we gotta follow his example. And that involves playing fairly and _not_ throwing childish insults back and forth."

His manager flinched back before looking away and replying to the wall, "Okay."

They continued their walk to the school's entrance in momentary silence. Reaching the door, Uoya smiled sadly and threw an arm around her in a sideways hug, "Sorry, but it had to be said. You gotta work on holding your tongue Hana-chan. Anyway, see you tomorrow?"

Hana leaned into him momentarily, "See you, Uoya-kun."

Green eyes stared at Uoya's retreating back before letting out a weary sigh. She hadn't realized he'd be that upset about their confrontation with first string, but it made sense. Their captain focused on playing fairly and Uoya acted like his grey-headed reincarnation. Both boys enjoyed basketball, but kept their focus on playing honestly and honorably.

Hana had not been taught the same.

* * *

The beginning of Friday's practice looked an awful lot like an intervention. Hana was sitting on the bleachers and her teammates stood around her in a semi-circle. Coach walked in at one point and promptly walked back out, telling the teenagers to sort out their own drama. The first string replacements had not come yet and Hana was experiencing a truly odd sensation, longing for the two Miracles to finally show up.

"Are you going to say anything?" Futabatei drawled out. His slate grey eyes narrowed at the manager in subtle annoyance.

"I apologized like five times!"

"…not very well," a voice in the back spoke out. Hana snarled at the direction of the voice, mentally daring him to say it to her face.

Uoya cut in, "You apologized for the wrong thing. He wants you to apologize for disgracing the team, _not_ stealing from the Shogi club."

"I did not 'disgrace' the team," Hana countered with a pout. This had been going on to long, but neither side planned to back down. Uoya let out another of his groans before throwing his hands up and walking away. A few teammates followed after him, hoping to get away from the tension.

Futabatei opened his mouth to continue his reprimand, but Hana's prayers had been answered. The noise of the gym door opening cut him off and Hana ducked between the remaining team's during the distraction.

"We aren't done, Imamura-san," The captain called out after her.

"Yes we are!" Hana yelled out in return, "I apologize for disgracing the team! There! Done!"

"That was a terrible apology, Hana-chan…"

"That seems to be a normal occurrence for her," a new voice spoke out from the doorway and Hana turned toward it defensively, locking gazes with a pair of blue eyes.

Kuroko and Kise had stopped in the doorway and looked on in confusion; well Kise did, Kuroko was just watching the spectacle impassively.

"Are we interrupting?" The blue haired boy inquired. His tone was polite, but Hana could hear the tiniest amount of amusement. Apparently Kise did too because his wary face turned into one of contemplation.

"No, we've sorted everything out," Hana replied but her team's simultaneous scoff contradicted her. She spun around and stuck her tongue out in childish retaliation.

"Do you think this is normal?" Kise questioned Kuroko. His teammate offered him a confirming nod and Kise chuckled gleefully. "Maybe this won't be too boring then!"

Kuroko glanced at Kise in reprimand, but turned his attention to Futabatei, "You must be the captain? Akashi-kun sent us to help you with your game tomorrow."

Futabatei nodded and came to stand in front of the new duo. Eyeing the two first-string members up and down, he spoke gruffly, "Futabatei Tsuneyo. Thank you for coming to assist us."

"Kuroko Tetsuya and it's no problem. We're happy to help."

Kise offered the captain a charming smile before introducing himself, "Kise Ryota! Besides, we couldn't say no to little Imamura-chan's plea for help!"

Futabatei raised one black eyebrow and shot Hana an incredulous look. He looked back to the two new comers before raising another eyebrow; silently asking, _Are you serious?_

Meanwhile Hana smiled smugly; although inside her head she was thrown off a bit by Kise's statement. Walking closer to Kuroko and trying to shrug off her apprehension, she offered out a hand, "Seriously, thanks Kuroko-kun. We all really appreciate it."

As Kuroko returned the handshake, Kise pouted at the manager. He'd been hoping to fluster her a bit, but it seemed he'd have to dig a little deeper to get a reaction, so he whined out, "What about me, Imamura-chan?"

"Thank you too, Kise-san," she didn't offer out her hand, instead giving him a stiff nod. His attitude grew smug as he watched her subtly twitch in annoyance.

"Hmm, you should smile more Imamura-chan," Kise remarked pseudo-innocently, "You'd be much more approachable looking!"

He watched in glee as she started to blush in presumably anger. Unfortunately, his fun was cut short as the boy from yesterday grabbed her around the waist. Golden eyes narrowed when the boy whispered something into her ear and whatever he said successfully quelled the hot tempered girl.

After Uoya finished calming her down, he nudged Hana in the shoulder forcing her to ignore her ego and offer Kise a tight smile, "I'll keep that in mind."

Gathering all the patience she had, she turned away from Kise and Kuroko to let Futabatei discuss tomorrow's game plan. Uoya was right, her tongue was going to get her in trouble someday. _Maybe I should just cut it off? Or, I can cut Kise's off. Yeah, let's do that._ She began to chuckle quietly to herself, causing her teammates to shoot her wary looks and step back.

By the time she returned to the bleachers, her coach came back and included himself into the discussion between first string and second string. Hana couldn't hear what they were saying, but thing's seemed to be moving along smoothly. No one had thrown a punch yet.

Looking away from the boys and down to her team notes, she scribbled Kise and Kuroko's names onto the worksheet. Kise would be taking over Kitano's spot as power forward and Kuroko would be playing as a small forward. Now, it was time for her to look into Kogami's team stats. Last year's match had been brutal and Torio had not handled the loss well. The weeks after their loss had been spent with new brutal training regimes and Hana prayed that they didn't have to go through that again.

Scanning over her information, she cracked an unhappy smile. It seemed to be good Kitano had to miss this next game. Kogami was a notoriously rude team and played heavily with fouls and threats; things that the hot-headed Kitano could not have handled. She risked another glance at the team and focused on Kuroko and Kise. Hopefully these two could handle the trash talk.

Minutes passed by quickly and so far the team's integrated practice continued going smoothly. Kuroko was proving to be a valuable player along with, surprisingly, Kise. The blonde's ability to copy moves worked marvelously with the other teammates. The only issue in his playing came from how he tended to stray from his assigned position; often taking up Kuroko's small forward spot and point guard position. Hana made a quick note by his name. It wasn't a big issue, but if he continued to focus solely on himself it'd bring problems.

She heard a throat clear behind her and twisted her body to face the noise. Coach was looking at her binder with a thoughtful face, "Anything useful, Imamura-san?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Matsunaga-sensei. I was just examining Kise-san's playing style. The first-string players play differently then what I'm used to," The older man offered her a sympathetic look, though Hana couldn't quite figure out why.

"You've had that binder since last year, correct?" She gave him a confirming answer, "Try comparing your notes on Kise-san with Torio-san. It might give you a better understanding of the first string style."

Instinctually, Hana's temper flared. Although she held her tongue in the presence of her coach, it was hard to do so. Giving him a stiff nod she put her focus toward practice. Turning back around, she caught him give her another indescribable look. Hana ignored it.

Practice ended peacefully. In fact, despite the second-string's reservations about first string several teammates were exchanging conversations with both Kuroko and Kise. Kise even had a genuine smile on his face.

Hana let out a soft giggle as she watched Uoya try to get Kuroko to laugh, several other players laughing along with her. It obviously wasn't working, but the surrounding team members seemed entertained.

"Hana-chan!" Speak of the devil.

She finished her last entry before looking up at her friend, "Yes, Uoya-kun?"

The sixth year swindled up next to her and offered an obnoxiously charming grin, reminiscent to a certain copycat, "Whatcha doing tonight?"

"No," she peered up at him from under her eyelashes, "And tone down the douche-bag aura. It's bad for your health."

Uoya spluttered and she heard a loud guffaw from one of her teammates as they walked out, "You didn't even hear what I had to say!"

"You just want me to buy you dinner," she deadpanned as she shoved her stuff back into her bag.

"Hana-channn, I'm so hungry. You don't understand!"

"You said that last time," she smirked at his dejected face, "It didn't work then, and it won't work now."

He whimpered melodramatically and sunk to the floor, wrapping his long arms around her legs. "Hana…. Pleasseeeeee."

"Get off me."

"Food."

"No, you damn leech!"

"But I need to be big and strong for our match tomorrow! Please!"

"Fine!" he hugged her legs even tighter and she titled dangerously, "Aghk! Don't do that! Get up Uoya!"

* * *

"…What are you doing?"

A scream escaped the girl's mouth and she stumbled forward, barely avoiding landing on her face. She flung her head around hastily and stared wide-eyed at the tall blonde in front of her. _Every time I meet them one on one they startle me, what the hell!_

"Have you been taking lessons from Kuroko-kun? Holy shit man," she panted for breath. Kise offered her a shrewd smile before shrugging innocently.

"Can't say that I have," his mind sparked in interest, "So, what are you doing?" Gold eyes traveled around the area, before landing back on the girl in front of him.

She blushed and looked away, suddenly embarrassed. Poking at the papers around her, she mumbled softly, "Research."

"… On the floor? In the boy's dressing room?" He raised his blonde eyebrows in disbelief. Hana let out a distressed moan and covered her face with shaky hands. Observing her, Kise let a slow smirk cover his face, "I didn't take you for a pervert Imamura-san."

"No! You idiot!" Launching a random pen at his face she continued, "Sometimes I can hear the other team, you know, through the vents and stuff…" her voice trailed off as she finished.

"You're spying?" He laughed incredulously, subtly eyeing the pen resting on the floor. Her aim had been a little too close for comfort.

Green eyes narrowed suspiciously at his tone, "Why does it matter? What're you doing here anyway? Most of the team doesn't show up this early."

"Ehhh…" it was silent for a moment before the blonde continued, "Sometimes I like to get to places before the crowd, ya know?"

"Are you talking about your fan club?" Hana raised an eyebrow. Kise let out another breathy chuckle and nodded slightly. Hana looked thoughtful for a moment before letting out an obnoxiously sunny grin, "So we've both got something to hide. I won't tell your fan club and you won't tell my team. Deal?"

"Wah?" Golden eyes widened, "Are you trying to blackmail me?!"

"No, not really…" a cough, "Okay maybe. Is it working?"

Kise's aura seemed to grow a bit colder and Hana resisted the itch to cringe. He looked down to the floor, for much longer then required, before peering at her under his bangs, "You're a lot of trouble Imamura-chan. But sure, we've got a deal-"

"Oh thank God. I didn't think that'd work," she murmured under her breathe.

"-But, you have to tell me why you don't want your team to know about your little spying hobby," he finished smugly.

Hana blinked at him in shock. Her disbelief quickly turned into irritation and she shot the copycat a scowl. _He out did me. Blondie's smarter then he looks._ Raising a stern hand, she pointed at the bench and silently ordered Kise to sit down. If he wanted to know so badly, then he'd have to wait until she finished her notes. Kise rolled his eyes in response but followed her order and rested on the bench, relaxing his arms on his knees and watching with interest.

"I help keep the team up to date with their opponents, you already know that though since Momoi-san does the same thing. Anyway, uhm, captain doesn't really like me to spy on the other teams. He prefers gathering our information through recorded games and word of mouth. But that doesn't always work," she sighed.

Kise was still listening behind her, intelligent eyes scanning over the mass of papers on the floor. The personality he was displaying right now did not match her reports. She stared at him for another second before shaking her thoughts off, "I promised that I would help my team become the best they could. And if that involves going behind their backs to get them a much needed advancement, I'm going to do it. I'd just rather not get reprimanded for it."

He let out a quiet hum, "Isn't that kinda selfish?"

Hana paused and thought it over, "I guess it is in a way."

Golden orbs flashed up at her, almost feline in appearance. He titled his head curiously and Hana didn't enjoy the sensation of being studied. It reminded her of her first encounter with Kuroko and the way the sixth-player practically looked into her soul. Every one of her nerves stood on edge.

Kise smiled, it wasn't more than a twitch of the lips but it was something, "You don't seem too concerned about it."

"I've always known I'm selfish. It's nothing new to me," she replied bluntly, trying to mask her self-consciousness. Her hands had begun to shake so to distract herself she began to fiddle with the papers. Hana tried to read the words she wrote out, but the longer she focused the more blurred they got.

"But, at the same time you're not," her guest mused, so quiet that she couldn't hear him over the rushing beat of her heart. Kise watched as the papers in her hand quiver as she shoved them back into her bag, "Are you leaving? I thought you were going to play your spy game?"

"I've got enough info on them already. Besides, they're taking too long to get here, by the time they actually arrive my team will be here too," she threw out the first excuse she could think of. It had taken a toll on her, sharing such personal information with Kise. It was actually terrifying. She felt like she had lost control of the situation; the boy could just read her too easily. She needed to go.

"Anything you want to share?"

She looked at him from over her shoulder, momentarily thrown off. _You're nothing like I planned, since when did you have a serious side?_ Biting her lip into her mouth she heaved out a loaded breath, "They trash talk. Big time. Knowing you guy's reputation though, you're used to it. Just don't expect them to play fairly."

Kise let out a surprisingly graceful snort, "Our reputation? You hold quite a grudge on our team, Imamura-chan."

Something about the intimate setting between the two made her want to apologize. Kise was his own person after all, not a conjoined force with his teammates. She bit her tongue though; her pride would not allow her to disgrace it. In the meantime, Kise watched her silent struggle and lowered his head to hide a smirk.

"Ah! But it's okay!" Kise suddenly spoke brightly, a complete 180 from the solemnity he displayed before. Hana couldn't believe it, "You can apologize after we help your team win today!"

"What…" it was the only thing that would come out of her mouth.

"You will apologize right?" He adopted a wounded expression, letting fake tears bloom in his eyes, "It hurts to hear you say such mean things about us!"

Hana scrambled to her feet and watched Kise in dread. _I've been played. He played me! Dude!_

The blonde suddenly came into her personal bubble and placed his hands on her shoulders. Hana had never felt so small in her life; Kise's hands covered her shoulders completely and, if he wanted, could easily crush her. _This is just Kise! Think of Aomine! Or Murasakibara!_

"I want to be your friend Imamura-chan! If you could just get rid of your nasty attitude!" The copycat babbled. Hana payed him no mind though, lost in her fear induced musing. His face came abnormally close to hers, head tilted playfully, "Imamura-chan?"

Hana couldn't think. Much less speak. Her face began to grow redder and redder, a mixture of rage and embarrassment. Finally gaining control of her bodily functions again, she let out a squeak and shoved a hand directly into Kise's face. He let out his own squeal and his hands tightened on her shoulders to prevent falling.

"Let go of me!" she shrieked.

"If I let go I'll fall!" he cried back.

"Good!"

"Why do you want to hurt me, Imamura-chan?!"

She pushed on his face even harder and ignored his squawking, "Oh I've got plenty of reasons! No! Don't get closer!"

"I don't want to fall!" he wailed.

"That doesn't mean—Kise-san! Stop!"

"If I fall, you do too!"

"Why are you so touchy!"

"…excuse me." A bland voice spoke out, effectively startling both Kise and Hana. Kise lost his fight against gravity and fell backwards, bringing Hana down with him. She landed on his chest hard and Kise let out a wheezy huff. Gold eyes met green, one startled and another enraged. Hana let out a frustrated growl and punched him solidly in the shoulder, mentally rejoicing at his hiss of pain.

Kuroko stood in the locker room, face blank and unsurprised. Uoya stood behind him, and in complete opposite to Kuroko, his face was flushed pink and gaping like a fish. Several other teammates stood in the back ground, faces pale. They knew their manager's wrath was not something to be trifled with. But everyone, sans Kuroko, were in shock as she stood up without another glance at Kise; her face still red from her earlier blushing.

"I need coffee," Hana spoke decidedly and escaped the room as quickly as possible.

Her team let out a collective sigh of relief as she left. Kuroko himself walked over to his teammate and offered him a hand. Kise took it easily, rubbing his shoulder with a pout. Uoya ran a tired hand over his face before excusing himself to chase after his friend.

"Why did she have to hit me?" Kise moaned.

"You're lucky you're not dead!" An unknown teammate contributed. Kise shot him a pout and turned his teary eyes toward Kuroko. The blue haired boy let out a sigh before patting Kise on the shoulder complacently.

"Why was Imamura-chan in the boy's dressing room anyway?" Kuroko questioned his teammate, stepping away before Kise could attach himself to him. Blue eyes locked on Kise though when he didn't answer right away. The blonde opened his mouth and stumbled before closing it with a frown.

Several seconds passed before Kise tried again, "She said she was doing homework, I think."

Kuroko eyed him disbelievingly before letting it go. It was obviously between her and Kise, and if he wanted to know he'd ask her later. He headed to his locker and instructed Kise to do the same. It was time to get ready for the game.

 _Meanwhile…_

"What did you just say?"

"Uhm… I asked if you still had your, uhm, innocence?"

"Uoya-kun," Hana purred, "You have five seconds to get as far away from here as you can. One… Two…"

"Aghk!"


	7. Chapter 7

**It's been too long. I'm sorry friends, followers, and reviewers. Mid-terms decided to kick my butt and I had a little trouble writing this chapter. Of course when I decided to write a fanfiction on a sports anime I realized, "Hey I'm gonna have to write sports scenes." But I did not realize how _incredibly hard_ writing these sports scenes would be. As a result I think a lot of my frustration bled out into the characters and I full warn you there is quite a bit of cussing. Anyway, I've edited this but I do not have superb editing skills... so yeah. If I've made a glaringly obvious mistake please, please, please tell me. **

**Finally! Enjoy the newest chapter!**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any canon characters/events.**_

* * *

Teiko (Second String) VS Komagi

"What the hell was that!"

"Did you see that! That little rat!"

"I'm going to punch those smug jerks, I swear."

"Beat their ass, Uoya!"

"Oh, come on. How is the ref so blind!"

"Imamura-san," a heavy hand fell onto her shoulder and she followed its length to meet eyes with her coach. He spoke, "It's great to see your enthusiasm, as always, but please remember we do have guests."

Brown eyes were crinkled in subtle amusement and he flicked his gaze over his shoulder to the newcomers. Kise was staring at her open mouthed and edging a safe distance away from her. Kuroko was motionless beside him, but the abnormal width of his eyes gave him away.

She pouted at them both before slouching over in defeat. Letting out a resigned huff she mumbled, "Sorry, Matadusi-sensei."

He gave her shoulder a quick pat in reply then turned his attention back to the game. Her team was steadily losing points to Komagi's offense and unfortunately the score board was reflecting that number. 48-69. She'd like to think that they were losing due to the uncalled fouls, but she knew that wasn't the case. Her team simply did not have the skill to keep up with a powerhouse like this. _I promised to help them succeed_.

"I don't recall you being this…" Kuroko interrupted her thoughts, "vocal during our match."

She waved her hand at him in dismissal, eyes locked on the game. "I knew we wouldn't win against your team. But I had thought we'd at least stand a chance here..."

"Awh, Imamura-chan! That's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say!" Kise cried from the opposite side of the bench. She twitched and shot her eyes in his direction to give him the nastiest glare she could manage. Kise flinched.

Seconds later the buzzer rang, signaling the end of first half. Her team returned worn out and disheartened as they realized the odds of winning the game. As they all took their seats, a sweaty lump of grey hair flung itself into her lap causing her to scrunch up her nose in distaste. In retaliation, Hana poked at his forehead.

Uoya groaned and swatted at her hand, "Water."

"You gotta move then," she poked at him again and he rolled off her lap, "Good job out there by the way."

Her friend let out a disgruntled mumble but Hana ignored him as she stood to retrieve several water bottles. Passing them out to her teammates, she made her way over to Futabatei and tapped him on the shoulder. In her hand was the last water bottle and he accepted it with a silent nod.

"I was thinking," she started off warily, "It might be time to sub in Kuroko and Kise."

He flicked his eyes to her and hummed noncommittally. His gaze returned to the score board and he seemed to go into deep thought. Another hum later, "I know."

"…You know?" she deadpanned.

"It's what I intended to do," he said.

Hana stared at him and tried to stifle her temper, "That's not what you said over the email."

"Oh," he glanced at her again and she swore she saw the beginnings of a teasing smile. "My apologies."

"This is a twisted form of revenge, isn't it?"

"Go tell Kise-san and Kuroko-san that they're playing next," he returned casually, patting her once on top of the head as he walked away.

Hana glared at the back of his head before stomping her foot childishly. Heading over to the two reserve players she caught Kuroko's attention and came to stand in front of him. Far off to the side Kise perked up hoping for something to stop his boredom. He cautiously moved closer to hear the conversation.

Hana shot Kise an impatient look before aiming her words to Kuroko, "Captain told me you guys are getting subbed in next half. Hopefully we'll be able to bring the score up with your help."

She paused for a bit to mentally review the game plan, "Originally, you two weren't supposed to be subbed in until the last quarter but with how badly we're losing the plans changed a bit. Your positions are still the same from practice but you'll be playing for longer than intended."

Kuroko dipped his head in understanding and pulled his wristbands on. Looking at the manager he said, "We'll help as best as we can."

Hana nodded absentmindedly, then unexpectedly pulled a hand down her face. Sighing, she spoke, "You've been watching so you know that the referee isn't doing his job. Just…" another sigh, "Don't worry about anything they say. Play as best as you can. Both of you."

Kise frowned momentarily and shot Kuroko a confused look. His blue haired teammate didn't notice, too busy lost in his scrutiny of the manager. Despite not knowing Kuroko that long, Kise was fairly positive the shorter boy didn't smile often. But looking at him now he could see a tiny lift of Kuroko's lips.

"You're doing it again," Kuroko spoke frankly. Hana frowned at him, confused. _Doing what?_

Kise leaned closer to Kuroko and whispered, "What's she doing?"

"Imamura-chan becomes very serious on the topic of basketball. When we went to dinner the other night she did the same thing," blue eyes landed on the blonde, "I recall her referring to you as the so called 'copycat king', actually."

"Don't talk about that!" she gasped.

"Copycat king, huh?" Kise smirked at Hana's flushed face. His word's caused the blush to spread down her neck and chest, he noted.

"We're not talking about this! Go get ready!"

"Talking about what?" a new voice spoke up. Uoya appeared from behind Kuroko, head titled in curiosity.

"How much conditioner Kise uses," Hana quipped quickly, purposely cutting off Kise. The boy frowned and opened his mouth but a loud whistle silenced him. The tall blonde scowled at her, but it lacked any real heat. Kuroko let out another millimeter smile before latching onto Kise's jersey and dragging him off.

"So they're finally playing?" Uoya questioned. Before she could confirm he spoke again, "It's about time! Those Komagi jerks need to be taken down a few notches."

"That's rich coming from you."

"From me—what are you talking about?!"

Hana side-eyed him with a smirk, "I saw that cute little brunette earlier. The one with the bow?"

"You saw that?" Uoya whispered, his face paling rapidly.

"I saw it," she confirmed and brought her clipboard over her mouth to hide her grin. "I saw _all_ of it."

"…. Please don't…"

"Hey man, she told you she had a boyfriend. Should have listened and maybe you wouldn't be so embarrassed right now."

"I didn't know he'd be that big!" he defended.

Hana snorted, "You shouldn't have pestered her. You were being an annoying little shit."

Before Uoya could respond, Hana bopped him on the head with her clipboard. The underclassman let out a soft moan and glared up at his friend, "Sometimes I swear I hate you."

"No you don't. Now go sit down and rest, you're subbed out."

"Wait! That wasn't part of the plan! I'm fine!" he protested.

"The plans changed, just take a break. Seriously," Hana grumbled. She could tell he wanted to argue. But he quickly reined it in before shooting her a halfhearted glare and sulking toward the bench. _Stupid stubborn brat._

Her team was lined up into position on the court, all the players looking exhausted except Kuroko and Kise. Even from the sidelines she could sense Kise's bubbling anticipation despite his nonchalant façade. Obviously, the boy had been sitting still for too long. Hana vaguely equated his current mood to that of a hyper active puppy. On steroids.

On the other hand, Kuroko looked calm if not a little bored. He wasn't looking at the players around him and they in turn were doing the same to him. _They probably haven't noticed him. That's… convenient._ It was one thing watching this talent from the perception of the audience, but it was a whole other ball field watching it as a teammate. It was mildly disturbing how quickly her mind worked on a plan to exploit it.

The only other player on the floor that didn't look tired was the captain. Futabatei was standing tall with his detached face on. But Hana knew from experience not to trust him when he was like this. It was probably the scariest thing about her captain; the way he can pay attention to everything at once while simultaneously not at all. His cold gray eyes were locked on the opposing team, and Hana could feel his annoyance radiating across the court.

The other team hadn't noticed his look yet and were still chatting boisterously. She flinched when she caught the echo of their words: _weak, losers, not worth our time._ Her hands curled into fists, feeling a sting as her jagged finger nails dug into her palm. A quick glance at Futabatei showed that he too had heard the insults as his shoulders had tightened up. She unclenched her fists and flexed her fingers; her thoughts now a happier, more devious tone. _Captains gonna kick their asses~_

A whistle blew out and the incompetent referee from before walked up, "Second half begins. Ball in home team's possession."

Futabatei caught the ball easily and retreated to behind the line, Iseri-san in front of him waiting for the pass. It began quickly, Futabatei passed it to him hard and the echoing smack rang in her ears. Iseri-san moved just as fast, dribbling to the half court line and twisting to avoid a messy block by one of Komagi's players. Another opponent appeared on his left and he was forced to pass the ball to the closest player, who just so happened to be Kise.

In shock of the rapid change of pace, Komagi couldn't defend against Kise who quickly moved toward the goal and dunked the ball into the hoop with little trouble. The blonde didn't seem surprised in the slightest and nonchalantly tossed the ball to the opposing team before retreating to the other side of the court. Hana appreciated the vindictive smirk that spread across her face.

Komagi didn't take Kise's success very well. Like Futabatei, they passed the ball in quickly and sprinted toward her team. The brown haired offensive player, Hana hadn't bothered to memorize their names, shouldered past Iseri and Futabatei. Iseri was sent to the floor by the impact, but Futabatei stood strong and attempted to block the opponent's advancement. His hand barely connected with the ball when a quick elbow jab sent him stepping backwards.

"Foul!" Hana screamed, "That was a fuc-!" A hand pressed over her mouth cutting her cursing short. She shot Uoya an unimpressed look over her shoulder.

The referee didn't even glance in her direction and he most certainly didn't call the foul. The brown-haired asshole was smirking as he dribbled the ball closer to their net, weaving in and out with ease. Kise had moved forward to deflect him but stopped suddenly. At first Hana didn't understand why, but unexpectedly the ball was stolen out of the player's hands by a pale blur. With practiced ease Kuroko, passed the ball to a now standing Iseri who in turn raced down the court.

Iseri was quickly blocked off and the ball taken from his possession. The Komagi player was back to their goal quickly and jumped up to shoot the ball in, but a long arm stopped its entry. Kise was faster than expected. As soon as the ball was in his possession it seemed he was at the opposite goal in seconds. Despite his quick feet, Kise wasn't prepared for the two defensive players awaiting him.

They quickly blocked him in, moving closer and closer to the overwhelmed blonde. The two opposing players were pressed shoulder to shoulder with the blonde and were pushing manically. Eventually the jostling became too much for Kise and he began to twist around to find a way out. The other two players were jeering, but Hana couldn't hear them from the sidelines. Obviously, whatever they were saying was upsetting Kise and he struggled harder. Just as he was about to free himself the whistle rang out.

"Foul! Unnecessary contact, home team!"

Kise shot a disbelieving look at the referee. He ignored the hand that patted his shoulder, still in shock over the terrible call. _This isn't right…_ he thought angrily.

"The ball is now in possession of the guest team!"

"You idiotic, sadistic, little twerp of a man!" a high-pitched shriek followed his declaration. Kise looked to the side and almost smiled at the sight of the manager struggling furiously in her friends hold. Her friend, he thinks his name was Uoya, was trying to cover her mouth but she kept evading his hand and occasionally snapping her teeth at him.

His attention transferred back to the game at the sound of the whistle. The same brunette player from before was dribbling down the court and Kise was righteously annoyed. As the player got closer, Kise stepped out of his position and stole the ball. He ignored the muffled curse from the brunette who was trying to get the ball back. Copying the move Kise had seen Iseri use earlier, Kise twisted around the Komagi player and rushed toward the goal again.

It was like deja-vu as two more Komagi players blocked him off. Kise grit his teeth and barely restrained the urge to lash out. The one to his left pushed into his side hard, shoving him into the player on his right. He could hear their voices talking, the tone sarcastic and mean but he paid them no mind. His attention was focused on trying to find a way out of this situation. He couldn't see anyone open and the oppressive feeling of being closed in was making him freeze up.

"Kuroko! Pass to Kuroko!" he couldn't tell who was speaking and he barely caught the words at all. They registered in his mind shortly after being spoken and he flicked his eyes across the court in search of the phantom player. _There!_

The blue haired boy was standing a few feet away in front of him, completely unguarded by the opposing team. His hands acted out of instinct and he passed the ball automatically. As the ball hit Kuroko's hands it was quickly directed to another player near the goalpost, who in his shock, shot it straight through the hoop.

At first the score didn't register for Kise, who was still fuming over the poor playing style of the opposing team. It was the loud whoop of excitement that caught his attention and he snapped out of his inner thoughts. Imamura-san was laughing on the sidelines, but he couldn't figure out why she was so happy. A quick glance at the rest of the players on the floor showed that they shared the same confusion.

"We're gonna kick their asses! Did you see that!" Hana yelled out giddily, "Kise! Keep passing to Kuroko! Kuroko! Keep doing that thing you do!"

"That thing he does?" Kise frowned to himself. _What thing? His misdirection?_

As if hearing Kise's thoughts, Hana spoke again, "That ghost thing!"

Kise let out a strangled half-choke, half-cough. The boy she was talking about was sending her a very unimpressed look and Kise scarcely controlled his laughter. Kuroko shot him an equal look but then his attention turned to the left of Kise. The same hand that patted him on the shoulder before abruptly did it again, but this time Kise payed attention to it.

"She's right," the captain spoke, "You're the fastest one in the game right now. If we want to win, you need to keep charging and pass to Kuroko-san if you get blocked. Iseri, Kajiwara, and I will be under the net to shoot."

Kise offered him a quick agreement and the satisfied captain continued on his way. He looked toward Kuroko and tried to catch his eye, nodding when blue eyes met his own. Kuroko offered him a simple dip of the head but it was enough to know his message had been understood. _We'll work together and we will defeat these guys,_ Kise promised silently.

The third quarter only had 40 seconds left for play and in that time the ball was stolen from Komagi and had stayed in Teiko's possession since. Kise and Kuroko were working together perfectly, already scoring four more points before the end of the quarter. It was about to be six more points but the whistle distracted Kajiwara, who was attempting to shoot, causing the ball to miss the hoop and bounce into the sidelines.

The players made their way to side for the quick break, gladly accepting the water bottles offered by an energetic manager. Futabatei began to discuss the rest of the game plan with the coach while Kise looked away uninterested. His attention landed on Kuroko and he zeroed in on the boy's sweaty face. _He doesn't have the best of stamina,_ Kise mused, _But I guess he's not a terrible player._

His thoughts were interrupted, again, by a water bottle flying toward his chest. He fumbled to catch it but ended up dropping it to the floor. Bending down to pick it up, he looked at the smug manager in front of him. Her green eyes were positively glowing and frankly Kise didn't think that was a good thing. As he straightened back up, and opened the now slightly beaten water bottle, he offered her a practiced smile.

"Did you see us, Imamura- _chan?_ " he barely resisted pouting at her lack of reaction. It was so much fun to tease her, especially with how much she blushed.

"You guys did great!" Kise almost choked on his tongue at the honest admission. But the black-haired girl just kept grinning, "We're going to destroy these guys and I'm going to _relish_ in it."

"You're very cruel, Imamura-chan," Kuroko spoke out from beside Kise. Hana pretended not to see the blonde teenager jump. He was helping her team win, she could let him keep his dignity. For now.

"These guys ruined us last year. It was 28-74, in their favor. I'm just enjoying some well-earned revenge," Hana smiled darkly but faltered at Kuroko's raised eyebrow and Kise's slightly scared expression. She pouted minutely, "Do you understand how many drills we had to do for losing last year? Like 100. Even I had to do them!"

"Futabatei-san made you do drills?" Kuroko questioned incredulously. Kise was gawking in the background. He couldn't imagine forcefully making Momoi-san do their drills.

"Ehm, no. Futabatei wasn't the captain last year," Hana replied but she refused to answer any more on the subject.

Kise looked pensive for a moment, "Is that why your punch hurt so bad?"

"Maybe," she smiled at him, "Want to find out for sure?"

"No thanks!" Kise stepped back quickly. Unbeknownst to the bickering pair, Kuroko rolled his eyes.

"Breaks about over," Hana mused, "You guys better go back out. Keep up the good work!"

Kuroko wanted to deny how happy her encouragement made him feel, but he was never very good at lying to himself. He eyed her for a moment, surprised by how different she looked with such a large grin on his face. A quick inventory of his teammate confirmed his opinion; Kise was looking at her strangely too.

"You're being surprisingly nice?" it was Kise that offered the confused statement.

"Are you indirectly calling me a bitch, Kise-san?"

"…Nope! Not at all! See ya later!"

Kuroko watched as his teammate quickly retreated. A look at Imamura-san made him tilt his head slightly. Her eyes were narrowed on the blondes back, but he swore he could see a hint of a laugh wanting to break out.

"He is right though," Kuroko mused aloud, "Most comments you make about our success are backhanded. It's odd to hear you speak so genuinely."

For her part, Hana looked slightly chastised. Narrowed green eyes regraded him for a moment before speaking, "I owe you guys for this. The least I can do is acknowledge your skills, especially with how much you've helped today."

Kuroko wanted to respond, but Imamura-san was looking away from him almost bashfully. He blinked at her before lowering his head with a small smile. He needed to return to his position anyway.

The final quarter began with a flourish. Kise started right off the bat, quickly leading the charge against Komagi's defense. Futabatei, Uoya, and Iseri were positioned around the goal just as quick and Kuroko could pass to them without problem. It seemed Komagi was still trying to force their score through fouls, but they were quickly realizing that style of play was no longer working.

When Komagi gained possession of the ball again, they upped the factor and began to play rougher. Hana winced at the sound of an arm connecting to Iseri's gut; that poor boy was going to be black and blue by tomorrow morning. This realization only made her fury grow.

"That was a foul! This team is a bunch of dirty cheats!" she screamed. Briefly, she toyed with the idea of launching her clipboard at the overly aggressive opposition but a sharp look from coach stopped her. Unfortunately, her coach was not the only one to hear her words.

A boy with a shaved head was in position near their side of the bleachers and he shot her a smug smirk, eyes dancing in sadistic mirth. She glared at his red and black jersey, mentally setting the self-righteous prick on fire. With a quick glance around for anyone watching, she smiled sweetly at the boy before lifting her hand up in a rebellious f-you. His smirk was quickly replaced by narrowed eyes.

"Better stay in your place bitch," his surprisingly deep voice warned her. In response, she stuck her tongue out. She didn't care if it was childish if it got the response she was looking for. Which it did.

His teammate passed him the ball, but since his attention was on the infuriating manager in front of him, he didn't notice and Uoya was there in a flash to intercept it. The boy looked shocked for a second before turning accusing eyes on the foul black haired girl.

"I'll get you for that," he promised before returning his attention back to the game and racing toward a defensive position.

"I'll get you for that," Hana mocked in a high-pitched voice. Feeling a heavy gaze on her right she turned to them only to blush at the droll look on Kajiwara's face.

"He started it," she defended. The blonde upperclassman rolled his eyes.

Iseri had scored another goal with the help of Kuroko by the time she looked back to the game. The score was two points away from being tied and the final quarter still had six minutes left. _They can do this! We can do this!_

Kise was cornered again, this time three players surrounded the overworked blonde. Two were situated on each side of him and the boy with the shaved head she'd mocked earlier was standing in front of him, arms wide. It was beginning to look like Kise was going to be fouled out again, but he passed to the right underneath the defensive reach. It seemed like the pass was directed to empty air, but Kuroko was suddenly in place and caught it quickly. With the most speed she'd seen Kuroko use all game, he was dribbling past another guard and the ball was passed to Futabatei, who shot it straight into the net. 74-75. _Only one more goal! Three more minutes!_

"Come on guys! Come on!" Hana shouted, "One more!"

Komagi was fast, pushing their players to the limit. The brunette from before was weaving in and out of her teammates, occasionally pushing them to the side in his haste. Uoya was an unfortunate victim to this as the offensive player shoved a palm into his back and pushed him away. Kuroko tried to subtly steal the ball before the player got to the hoop, but the brunette was lucky and managed to avoid Kuroko's hand. It was at the last second when the Komagi player jumped up to dunk and a tan hand slapped the ball away. Kise landed in front of the brunette breathing heavily. The tension was palatable as the two players stared each other down; Kise's gold eyes were burning into the other teen.

In the meantime, Uoya had grabbed the ball and was racing down the court. He passed to the left and Kuroko caught it and continued the sprint before passing it to Iseri. Iseri jumped for the goal but he couldn't make it. The ball bounced along the hoops ring three times before falling off into the greedy hands below. A Komagi player had it in one palm when another larger palm ripped it out of his hands. Futabatei landed below the hoop with the ball securely held in his hands. It was almost poetic when he shot the ball and it swooped straight through the hoop with an audible _swoosh._ 76-75. One minute left.

"Don't let them through!"

It was the boy with a shaved head this time. He led the charge of Komagi's offense with a finer hand then the brunette before. The boy with the shaved head avoided everyone without physical contact, making stealing the ball even harder. Uoya reached him a few feet in front of the goal but the other boy passed the ball behind him to a black-haired boy. The new guy wasn't as fast as the others but he was a much better shot. _30 seconds._ The ball floated through the air, a bright orange flash. Kise jumped from his position but couldn't reach the ball with its current arc. Uoya and Futabatei both raced toward the hoop, along with the rest of the Komagi team.

Uoya jumped and his fingers grazed the ball, knocking it off its path. It hit the hoop and bounced into the backboard before rolling off to the left side. He stumbled to grab it but couldn't manage. _20 seconds._ The ball landed behind him and it was a race between the two teams to catch it. The troublesome brunette was the first to grab it. _Fifteen seconds._ He took the shot from his current location and the ball bounced off the backboard without connecting to the hoop. _Ten seconds._ The two teams struggled against each other to snatch the final rebound. Shaved-head grabbed it between his hands, but Iseri jumped in front of him with a palm outstretched and stopped his shot. _Five seconds._ The Komagi player growled and passed the ball to the right roughly. He had been aiming toward his own teammate but that wasn't who caught it.

Kuroko stood in front of his teammate, orange ball held firmly between his hands. He didn't attempt to move because, not even a second later, the final buzzer went off. Blue eyes were blazing with unsaid victory.

 _Game over._

"Yeah!" Hana screamed with the buzzer unintentionally grabbing onto Kajiwara and pulling him to his feet, "We did it!"

It was heartwarming watching the happy grins simultaneously spread across her teammates faces. Uoya let out a loud _woo-hoo!_ , that set everyone off. Suddenly every member of her team was cheering, except Futabatei and herself. Her captain was looking at his teammates fondly, lips curling into a reluctant grin. He glanced over to sidelines and offered them all a proud nod. Meanwhile, she felt a hand tussle her hair before catching the sight of a suit covered arm moving on to congratulate the rest of the team. Finally, her eyes landed on the two reserve players.

Kise and Kuroko were looking at each other and seemed to be in a semi-serious conversation. Both had tired smiles on their faces and Hana suddenly felt an intense fondness for the two boys that helped her team succeed. Looking back on her actions, she would most likely feel embarrassed but that didn't stop her as she marched toward them.

"You're a lot stronger than I thought, Kurokocchi!" Kise spoke happily.

"…Please don't call me that," Kuroko deadpanned.

Kise noticed her first, surprisingly, and shot her a wary slash excited grin. Kuroko followed his teammates gaze and offered her an exhausted twitch of the lips. Hana didn't even think about her next actions. One minute she was walking toward them then the next she had pulled both boys into a tight hug.

"Thank you," she whispered into the boy's chests.

Meanwhile, Kise shot Kuroko a terrified look over her head. Kuroko, himself, was out of his element too. He returned Kise's look with slightly wide blue eyes and shook his head slowly. Thankfully, the surprise hug was over quickly and the two boys traded more confused looks when the manager wouldn't make eye contact with either of them.

"Uhm," she coughed, "Thank you for helping us today… Ah, I'm just gonna go now? Yeah… I'm gonna go."

"Wait-"Kuroko started, but Hana was already walking away.

"What was that?" Kise spoke slowly, still in shock that the abrasive girl had hugged him. Willingly.

"I believe she was thanking us," Kuroko responded. His eyes were trained on Hana's back as she was unwilling tugged into a group hug between her teammates.

Kise followed his teammates gaze and tilted his head. He could hear her shouts of protest as her friend tickled her mercilessly, "Do you think we should tell Akashicchi about the game today or wait until practice?"

Kise paused when he didn't hear a response. A quick glance over his right shoulder confirmed his fears as the blue haired boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Kurokocchi…" he whined, fake tears coming easily.

He pouted mentally, _Now I'll have to be the one that tells Akashicchi._


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey look, a quick update! I've edited to the best of my mediocre abilities, but if you see a problem feel free to mention it. Also this chapter is mostly just friendship building fluffiness. If you like fluffiness, well here you go friend! Finally, as a last note: Thank you everyone! Special thanks to the reviewers; your comments help me keep up the inspiration to continue writing.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

* * *

A New Friend

Hana was right in the belief that she would regret her impromptu hugging of the two rivals. The regret started as soon as the hug finished, her thoughts racing a mile a minute at how _stupid_ she was. You just don't hug people like that! She wasn't even friends with Kise and hardly considered Kuroko anything other than an acquaintance. A fact that Uoya was forced to listen to as it was repeated the whole way home.

Finally, he'd had enough, "It was a hug, Hana-chan. I hug you all the time."

"Yeah, but you're you know, you. You don't count!"

"…" Uoya lifted his eyes to the night sky in resignation, "Stop thinking about it, you're being stupid."

"Easy for you to say," she sulked. They were enemies for gods-sake. She couldn't let herself forget that, no matter how nice Kuroko was or how Kise reminded her of her childhood puppy. The boy beside her stifled his exhausted groan.

"You're thinking too hard," Uoya scolded, "You were happy and you hugged them, problem over."

"Problem not over!" Hana looked at Uoya in shock, "What if they get the wrong idea!"

"God, Hana! They won't get the wrong idea, trust me," Uoya snorted. _As if they could see Hana as anything other than terrifying._

"Whatever," she turned away from him in defiance. Side-eyeing her, Uoya almost laughed out loud. She was blushing!

"You're blushing! Do you actually like one of them?" He questioned gleefully. It was time to get payback for her teasing about his flirting.

"Absolutely not, you incompetent moron!"

Uoya danced away from her punch and chuckled, "You're being mighty defensive there, Hana-chan. I'm sure their fan-club would welcome you with open arms!"

"I'm going to murder you and sell your body parts to the black market," she growled and Uoya had the sudden realization that he might have pestered her a tad too much.

"Ha-ha, you know I was kidding! Hey— come on, calm down! Do not pick up that rock! Hana!"

* * *

The binder sat on her desk, staring her down. Hana bet if it could speak that it would be chastising her. Kise's profile was laid out in front of her and she glared at the tiny picture of the blonde in the corner of the page. She'd been reviewing her information for about an hour now to correct the things she'd been wrong about. It was turning out to be an alarmingly large project.

"Like how I didn't know how smart he is," she murmured to herself.

The blonde had caught her off guard in the locker room and she had no desire for that to happen again. Thinking back, it was almost impressive how Kise had flipped that situation around on her. He'd played on her sense of guilt and succeeded in making her fumble. Not to mention he'd been scarily close to figuring out her weakness.

If he had paid any more attention to her reactions he would have noticed for sure. In fact, she would bet money that Akashi already knew as well. Which was most certainly not good. Not good at all.

"I'll need to work on that," she sipped on her tea, "Probably best to avoid one on one confrontations with all of them. Eh, maybe not Kuroko-kun…"

The blue haired boy was an anomaly. Physically, he was not strong enough to intimidate her like the others, but mentally, the boy could over power her in a heart-beat. Because of his weak presence at the diner she had assumed she'd be able to lie to him, only to find out she was quite wrong. That had been a massive blow to her ego.

"Honey!" a voice called from downstairs, "Dinner!"

"Coming!" she glared once more at Kise's picture before slamming the binder shut. _I didn't want to look at your face anymore, anyway._ Grabbing her now lukewarm tea, she made her way to the steps and heard her father bustling around in the kitchen. The scene that greeted her was, sad to say, normal.

"Hey, how'd the game go?" her father was dressed in his normal tee-shirt and jeans attire but the floral apron tied around his waist clashed terribly. His hair had remnants of flour and egg and his crocked nose was speckled with icing.

"It was good," she answered as she surveyed the damage, "Cupcakes?"

"Yup! I'm trying out a new recipe, I need you to taste test them for me," he gestured to the odd colored mishmash of pastries behind him.

"You know they're green, right?"

"They're lime flavored with a carrot flavored icing," he corrected proudly.

"Great… I hope they aren't dinner?"

"Nope, I picked up some take-out from Aiko's on the way home," her eyes caught sight of the greasy bag on the table, "Go get what you want, I need to pop these in the oven."

"Thanks dad," Hana walked to the table and dug around the bag for a cheeseburger, "Have you heard from mom?"

She heard a crash before her father answered, "I'm okay! And yeah, she got that promotion she was talking about. Mentioned something about having sent you a letter?"

Hana chewed on her cheeseburger, "Nu-uh," she swallowed, "Haven't got anything yet."

"Ugh. I hate sending mail to America, they always lose it."

"They've only lost it like, five times."

"Five times too many!" he grumped from the kitchen. She heard a curse and a loud smack, "Do you think you could go buy some bug killer tomorrow? That's the second one today."

"Yeah, I'll need the money though." Her father walked in and pouted at her as he grabbed a burger. It was disturbing sight on a fifty-year-old man.

"You always want my money. Go get a job," he poked her shoulder as he passed.

Hana's lip curled up, "Do you remember last time?"

In an effort to offer her "worldly experience", her father had hired her at his bakery shop. It was an easy job and it had its perks; free cake anyone? But she hadn't been able to hold the job for more than a month thanks to one tricky customer. He had been a college student, judging by his Tokyo University sweatshirt, and had believed Hana was old enough to be flirted with. Though, he learned of his mistake quickly enough.

Her father's badly hidden smile told Hana he did, in fact, remember her last job. He spoke, "Don't throw cake at customers and maybe you wouldn't get fired from your own shop."

"I'm thirteen and he asked me on a date. Repeatedly," she defended. Damn it, her anger had been well earned!

"Yes, I recall. Your mother was quite proud," his wrinkled face was struggling to appear stern. She had a feeling he appreciated her actions too.

"That was good, by the way," she crumpled her wrapper up and tossed it into the trashcan, "Tasted better then yesterdays."

"You eat too fast," her father scolded, "Slow down or you'll choke."

Hana let a secretive smirk cover her face before replying, "That's what she said."

"Imamura Hana!"

"Thanks dad! Gotta go study now!"

"But the cupcakes!"

She paused in her escape, "I'll try them tomorrow!"

* * *

Turns out that hadn't been a great idea. Her father had cornered her as she left to go to the store and practically shoved the box of cupcakes into her hands.

"I can't eat all of these!"

"Make some more friends then," was his cheeky goodbye.

Now Hana was stomping down the street barely avoiding the people walking around her. _Stupid cupcakes. Who wants lime flavored cupcakes anyway?_

Her first choice had been to find Uoya, but he wasn't at his regular basketball court. Kitano had been her second, but she had no idea where the second-year lived. Now she was just wandering random streets and sidewalks hoping for a miracle. As each step passed with the cupcakes still in her possession, she felt her temper growing stronger.

It was during her anger fueled monologue that she noticed a familiar blonde teenager walking on the opposite side of the sidewalk. At first, she debated the pros and cons of ducking into the nearest ally way but then her eyes landed on the large box of pastries in her arms. Suddenly, she had a brilliant idea. It seemed a literal _miracle_ had appeared to answer her prayers.

"Kise-san!"

The blonde halted and looked around for the caller, "Imamura-san?"

Hana made her way over to him, avoiding a hasty woman on the phone who almost knocked into her. Smiling a tad too eagerly, she said, "How are you today?"

"I'm good," he was still confused, "Did you need something?"

"Actually, yes. I've been looking for you all morning!"

"…Really?" Hana tried to ignore his disbelief.

"Yeah! I knew I couldn't find Kuroko-kun so I had hoped to find you instead. I just wanted to thank you guys and Akashi-san for the help yesterday," she shook the box in her hands in explanation.

"Okay, well you're welcome Imamura-chan!" his face changed to one of practiced happiness but Hana could still sense his lack of understanding.

"See, I bought these cupcakes for you guys but I didn't want to wait until school to give them to you. They might not taste as good by then," she grinned up at him.

"Oh… that's alright I don't really-"

"Here!" she shoved the box into Kise's bewildered face. He stumbled to grab them before they fell to the floor and Hana took the convenient chance to escape. She was slipping by him when an iron-clad grip fell onto her wrist. Following its path up to his face, Hana cursed.

Kise gave her a pretty smile but she could she the predatory glint in his eyes, "Thank you, Imamura-chan. But why are you really giving these to me?"

Hana deflated and tried to shake his hand off her wrist. It didn't budge, "Okay, so maybe they weren't for you originally."

"Clearly," he teased. As the situation registered in her mind, Hana became flustered. How many times was she going to screw up around this boy? Her mouth began to move before her brain had time to process.

"My dad made them and he wanted me to try them for him but they're _green_ ," she began to babble, "He said they were lime flavored and it just sounded disgusting. He told me to share them with my friends so I was gonna shove them down Uoya-kun's throat but then you appeared and it was just too good an opportunity to pass up and they have carrot flavored-"

Kise let out an amused huff and released her wrist, "Calm down. I thought you were supposed to be good at lying. That was terrible, Imamura-chan."

"I normally am!" she defended, "It's just…"

"You know most people wouldn't take that as an insult," he cut her off, smirking at her angered blush.

Realizing she had officially lost control of the situation, she shot him a half-hearted glare, "So what? Anyway, can you please keep the cupcakes? Doesn't Murasakibara-san like sweets?"

"He does," Kise nodded but his expression hinted toward devious, "You should come with me to give them to him tomorrow."

Now that sounded like the worst thing she could ever do; Murasakibara-san was _huge._ She shook her head frantically, "Nope, no thanks. Just hand 'em to him and leave it at that. He doesn't need to know anything more."

"But, Imamura- _chan_ , it's your gift! You shouldn't be so cruel!"

"No, that's okay!" she argued. She remembered this expression, he was about to do something to piss her off.

"If you're sure…" he trailed off and glanced to the sky. Letting out a contented sigh he continued, "I'll just tell him they're from his secret admirer. Hopefully, Akashicchi doesn't look into it and discover the truth."

Hana gaped at him in horror. _They always did say the devil was handsome._

"That'd be super embarrassing, wouldn't it?" Kise finished with a faux smile. Hana felt her hand twitch and begged it not to curl up into a fist. She was sure Kise wouldn't appreciate a black-eye to accompany his modeling career.

"You have no idea how badly I want to punch you right now," she stated with honesty.

"Oh I do," Kise laughed, "But after seeing you on the court yesterday, you're much less intimidating now. Almost like a wet kitten."

It took a second for his insult to register, but when it did Hana snarled, "That's ironic. Because I've been equating you to a mentally stunted puppy for a while now."

"So mean!" he gasped out and let the fake tears build. Hana stared at him for a moment before huffing in aggravation. There was no point in arguing with this boy, since he seemed to _enjoy_ it.

"…Okay," she ran a hand through her hair and looked away, "I'm done. You win. I can't handle fighting against someone so annoying."

Unbeknownst to Hana, Kise began to sulk at her easy surrender. That had been the most fun he'd had talking to a girl in a long time. Normally, the females at school would fawn over him and compliment him at every turn; which had its perks of course. But, despite most of her words being fueled by hatred, it was refreshing to see someone so open toward him. Not to mention how easy it was to rile her up. That was the metaphorical icing on top of the cake. _Speaking of icing…_

"Ne, have you even tasted one of these?"

Hana looked at the box of cupcakes warily, "No. Why?"

"I'm not giving these to Murasakibara-cchi until I know they don't taste bad! He'll crush me!"

"Well that's your problem now, isn't it?" she smirked at him in satisfaction. Kise shot her a quick pout before he remembered her submission to the earlier argument.

"Nah-uh~ you surrendered, remember? It's your problem too!"

Hana paled, "Please do not make me eat those, Kise-san."

"But your dads the one that made them! You know what to expect!"

"…I'm above begging but I will ask again. Please do not make me eat them."

"Awh, you'd look so cute begging though!"

"Kise-"

"If you eat one I won't make you go with me to give them to Murasakibara-cchi~"

Hana blinked at him and grumbled under her breath. That was too good of an offer to pass up. She tenderly reached a hand toward the black cupcake box. Lifting the lid, she was assaulted with the overwhelming stench of lime, causing both her and Kise to flinch back. After she recovered, Hana took a steading breath and grabbed a soggy cupcake. While this was happening, Kise was watching her with glee and Hana shot a sharp glare toward him as she lifted the monstrous cupcake.

"I hope you're happy," were her last words as she took a tentative bite of the cupcake. After the taste registered she barely restrained the urge to gag. _So much lime! It's so soggy! Dad!_

In the meantime, Kise had practically fallen to the floor in laughter. He couldn't forget her face! As soon as she had taken a bite of the disgusting thing, her face had pinched together in disgust and her cheeks had tinted green. Just thinking about it again caused him to break into louder chuckles.

After recovering from her distress, Hana stared down at Kise unamused. She hissed, "You think this is funny?"

Kise tried to stifle his laughter, but he couldn't. He was only barely able to offer out an amused, "Yes!"

Hana face's darkened over and her eyes zeroed in on Kise's open mouth, "Well, I hope you'll find this just as funny."

His eyes flew open at her devious tone, "Wha-"

At that exact moment, Hana shoved the rest of the disgusting pastry into Kise's mouth. The blonde choked and began to cough, hands flying desperately to his mouth and trying to claw the remnants out. He mentally wailed in pain; he'd never tasted something so horrible!

In return, Hana began to cackle. As he watched her, Kise narrowed his eyes on the manager as he spat the last of the cupcake out. His hand slowly snuck into the fallen box and retrieved another cupcake with a sly smirk. Using the skills learned in basketball practice, he aimed the cupcake straight at her face and launched it.

The cupcake hit its mark and Hana squawked in outrage before wiping her face off as best as she could. The two teens had a quick stare down, gold and green hues turning into narrow slits, before both raced toward the remainder of the cupcakes. Hana reached it first and launched her revenge toward the smug jerk's face. As the cupcake smacked into his chest, Kise threw his own in retaliation. Soon, cupcakes were being hurled at random and passersby forced to take cover.

A little ways away, an old woman with a cane watched fondly from the front of her teashop, "Oh to be young again."

"You got it in my hair…" Kise's melodramatics distracted Hana from her self-survey in the mirror. Curious green eyes flicked to him and Hana let out a snort. He was right, she had certainly got it in his hair; the blond mop on top of his head was layered in specks of green cake bits and orange icing dribbled onto his forehead.

"I see that," she snickered, "You know for a basketball player your aim really needs work," Kise had hit her in the face twice, but the remainder of his assault laid on her shirt in multicolored splotches.

Kise huffed at her in indignation and ran the wet paper towel through his hair again, "This is never going to come out."

Hana let out another satisfied snort and meandered over to him. He looked up at her from his seat on the public toilet and pouted. For a second Hana thought he looked adorable, but shoved the thought away as quick as it came, "Hand me the towel, you suck at this."

"How can I suck at this? That makes no sense," he retorted.

"We've been in here for fifteen minutes now and you haven't been able to make a dent in it. Obviously, you suck at this."

Gold eyes looked her over in reluctance, "I don't trust you."

"Back at you, cupcake," she smirked at him and snatched the towel out of his hand. Quick hands tried to snatch it back, but Hana was faster and evaded his attempts. Kise blinked at her, his face adopting an annoyed mask before crumbling in resignation.

"You're not funny," his complaining was cut short as she roughly grabbed his head and began to scrub, "Aghk!"

Kise tried to twist out of her hold, but Hana grabbed his shoulders and forced him to sit still. After restraining him, she pulled his head closer to her and began to pick at his hair with the towel. Unluckily for Kise, some of the icing had dried and several strands of hair were stuck together in tacky strips. _At least the cake bits are coming out._

"Stop being so rough!" Kise howled, "I thought girls were supposed to be gentle!"

"That's sexist," she replied distractedly. There was one big chunk of icing over his left ear and no matter how much she rubbed the towel over it, it wouldn't budge. She lifted it up to examine it, only to pause at the slight shine of metal. Tilting her head, she looked closer, "I didn't know you had your ear pierced?"

"Well, I do! Ow…" he trailed off and lifted a hand to his head. His head was burning from Hana's harsh treatment of his hair. He was about to shoot another complaint at her, but when he turned to face Hana he stopped at her annoyed frown. _What's wrong with her now?_

"God," she whispered, "How much about you do I _not_ know?"

Kise struggled to hear her, "I'm sorry?"

Hana threw the towel into his face and turned away from him. Ignoring his annoyed protest, she began to pace the length of the bathroom. Her pervious whispers began to morph into loud grumbles, "First off, you're not as clueless as I thought. Then, you outsmart me! I mean I expect that from some people, but I never even thought you would! And your stupid mind games, are they even mind games? Or is that just your personality?"

"I- my what? What are you talking about?" Kise stared at her bewildered. Where had that come from? He forced himself to ignore his wounded ego, too overwhelmed with the sudden barrage of anger from the manager.

"And now! You have your ear pierced!" she twisted back around and pointed an accusing finger at him. Hana advanced forward, "How do I miss all this!"

Kise eyed her finger warily and pushed it away from his face, "Is this all over an earring?"

"No, yes, I don't know!" Hana moaned. She couldn't look at him anymore without wanting to scream. Turning away from him, she went to the sink at the other side of the bathroom. Her reflection stared back at her wildly; it's face confused and eyes searching for an answer that wasn't available. In the corner of the mirror she could see Kise watching her intently from his seat on the toilet.

"Kurokocchi told us about how you have information on all us," he began cautiously, "Is that what you're talking about?"

Hana looked down into the dirty sink, "Everything I had on you was _wrong_ ; it's been driving me insane."

Kise didn't know what to do. Angry or upset females were not his forte, especially ones that tended to reside on the violent side. Also, he didn't understand what the big deal was; it was just a notebook. How could she even have the correct information when they'd never had a conversation until recently? He decided to voice his opinion.

"I'm supposed to be better than this…" Hana answered. _Well,_ Kise mentally sweat-dropped, _that answered absolutely nothing._

"You're being silly," he stated as nicely as he could; the punch from yesterday still strong in his memories, "You know where you messed up, just fix it. There's no need to be dramatic."

She let out a deep breath before looking away from the sink; she really was being dramatic. After calming down, Hana eyed him, "You're one to talk."

"Rude!" he grumped and stood up from the toilet; his knees were absolutely killing him. Standing up and stretching, he sauntered over to the sink next to Hana. As he eyed the mirror Kise frowned at his reflection, "You didn't get all the icing out!"

The manager blinked at him from below, "Well I certainly can't now."

To demonstrate her point, she lifted her arm as high as she could, but her fingertips only reached the tips of his ears. Kise let out a delighted laugh, "You're as small as Kurokocchi! You two would make such cute, tiny babies~"

Hana's cheeks erupted into flames and she smacked at his arm hard, "Don't say things like that!"

"No need to be embarrassed, Imamura- _chan!"_ Kise shot her a happy smile, but Hana's face morphed into a defeated expression.

"I'm leaving. I've had enough of you today," she kicked him in the ankle as she passed.

Kise let out a pained whimper before trudging after her. As he stood behind her, he watched in amusement as she peeked her head out from behind the door and looked for any passersby. Apparently seeing no-one she cautiously tipped toed out of the doorway. Kise let out another laugh as he followed her before slamming the door closed behind him.

Hana whipped around and brought her finger to her lips, "Hush!"

"Why? Don't want to be seen with me?" He teased, "Most girls would be honored!"

"We're leaving a public bathroom together! I don't want people to get the wrong idea!"

"In case you've forgotten, you're the one that assaulted me earlier," Kise sang out beside her.

"How was that, in any way, considered assault?!" Hana whispered furiously, sticking her head out behind the clothing racks. _Where are his fan-girls when I need them?_

"Denial doesn't become you, Imamura- _chan,"_ Kise was having way too much fun with this. This was even better then arguing with her!

Hana glowered at him before darting from her hiding spot. She had been hoping to escape Kise, but sadly her attempt proved unsuccessful as the blonde easily kept pace with her. A scowl graced her lips, "I don't like you."

Kise smiled with unrestrained glee as he walked beside her, "You can't lie to me, Imamura- _chan_!"

That statement stumped Hana for a moment and she shot a panic filled glance at Kise. The boy was still smiling, but Hana could tell he meant nothing more from his statement then to tease her. A relieved sigh left her lips. Her secret was safe, for now. _Hopefully forever,_ she added.

"Where are we going?" Kise asked as they left the store.

Hana shot him an annoyed grimace, "There is no we, but I am going to go get some roach killer."

"Well, I'll tag along then!"

She sighed, "Please, dear God, don't."

Above her head Kise laughed silently. She was living up to her image as a wet kitten; he could imagine her fur prickling and everything! Reining in his amusement he replied, "I've got to buy new shampoo, anyway. I don't have enough at home to get this mess out of my hair."

Hana didn't deem him worthy of a reply and continued marching down the street. Kise kept pace with a joyful walk, even going as far as to hum under his breath. As his impromptu song continued Hana could feel her nerves slowly tick down; signaling she was moments away from exploding.

"Kise-san," she growled, "Shut up."

Kise pouted, but he ceased his humming. He looked over at his companion, "Kurokocchi never mentioned how uptight you were. It's no fun."

"Well Kuroko-kun doesn't drive me insane like you do. In fact, I think you enjoy it. That's the only explanation I can think of for your parasite behavior."

"It's fun to tease you. You just blush so much, it's hilarious! But that's not what I'm talking about," he paused contemplatively, "You're a lot meaner to me then you are to him, it's unfair~"

"I don't know what you're talking about, me and Kuroko-kun are only kinda friends…" she trailed off. She was realizing she didn't have a good reason why she was so mean to Kise other than ingrained habit.

Sure, the male was annoying. But at the same time, his personality reminded her of a more arrogant Uoya and she certainly didn't hate Uoya like she tried to hate Kise.

"But aren't we friends too?" The blond hurried his pace and stepped in front of her with a pout, "I mean I did help your team at the game yesterday, isn't that friendship worthy?"

"…I guess," Hana had a sinking feeling she wouldn't like where this conversation was going.

"So you should be nice to me too! Like Kurokocchi!"

"If I say yes will you please move out of my way?"

"Yup!" He shot her a pretty smile, "But you have to call me Kise-kun, like you do with Kurokocchi!"

Hana stared at him. He was still blocking her path and subsequently the other people around them, but all she could focus on was how he looked. The sun was shining onto his blonde hair and making it sparkle obnoxiously. Even his teeth were twinkling. But the fact that he looked like a literal ray of light wasn't the issue.

It was the way his smile looked as close to genuine as she had ever seen it directed toward her. He wasn't playing around for the moment; though his eyes sparked with a mischievous undertone. Furthermore, she couldn't sense that he was trying to hide anything or pull one over on her. It was odd, to say the least.

"Alright," she glanced to the sky to conceal her blush, "…Kise-kun."

His returning grin was even brighter than the first as his hand latched onto her wrist and began to tug her toward the nearest hardware store. She heard him talking in the back of her mind but she didn't bother to understand his excited babble. As she focused on the dried icing in his hair and the back of his shirt, she let her thoughts drift away.

 _Two new friends. I'm begging this isn't the start to a new pattern…_


	9. Chapter 9

**Dun, dun, dun. Another chapter! Thank you guys for everything. Every follow, favorite, and review means a lot to me and I hope you guys keep it up. Warnings for this chapter include Hana's violent monologues and a severely poor job of editing on my part. Enjoy you guys!**

 _ **I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

* * *

How to Bond with a Fellow Water Sign

Hana slammed her hands onto the bathroom counter in relief, panting as she gaped at her reflection in the mirror. Her ponytail had been yanked out of it's neat style, thanks to Kise, and her eyes were stuck in a permanent glazed over fashion. Her shirt was still coated into various remnants of cupcake, but none of that mattered now.

What mattered, was how _freaking_ tired she was. Her original plan of just stopping at the hardware store had been shot to hell as soon as Kise grabbed her arm. Instead of going to said hardware store, he had dragged her to several clothing stores. Either the blond was ignorant of all the odd looks they received or he just hadn't cared as he chatted up every single salesperson. It had been humiliating, to say the least.

But now she was finally home. Finally away from the blond headed devil. Finally able to rest with a nice cup of tea. The plans for the rest of the night included just that and maybe a nice romance movie to light the way. At least, her plans would involve all that when she could make her feet _move_.

Lamenting the state of her sore and aching feet, Hana admired her reflection before stopping short. It couldn't be, she'd never had one before! But the truth was sitting there on her forehead. Red, glaring, and completely noticeable in all its glory.

Her mouth gaped open in despair as she stared at the volcano shaped pimple. Hana anxiously began to mutter to herself, "It's just stress. Kise stressed you out. That's all it is…" she shuddered, "It's not puberty. Please not puberty."

Sparing another glance at the mirror, Hana made her retreat. She needed something stronger then tea to help wash down this terrible day. _Coffee it is._

* * *

"Today we're going to do something different!" Omura-sensei announced joyfully. Her glasses were sparkling in the light and Hana didn't like the insane edge of her smile. The English teacher continued, "I've got special permission from the principal to join the two English classes together for the day!"

At her declaration half of the students erupted into pained groans, Hana included. She didn't know anyone in this classroom and she highly doubted she'd know anyone in the other. Most of her year-mates didn't take English until they absolutely had too, which happened to be third-year. She didn't know Futabatei's schedule, but hopefully he was in the combining class.

"Oh, hush!" Her teacher scolded, "It's not going to be that hard! Since the end of our year is coming to a close I thought I'd give you all an easy assignment, Kazehaya-sensei agrees!"

The teacher walked into the middle of the four rows and gestured for everyone to stand, "When Kazehaya-sensei's class arrives, you're going to pick one of his students and work together in pairs to translate the newspapers located on my desk. I'd like everyone to go ahead and move the desks into groups of two."

The class simultaneously let out another groan, though much quieter this time. Hana grabbed her desk and dragged it to the left, merging with another student. The rest of the class followed their example, causing Omura-sensei to clap delightedly.

There was a quick knock on the door before Kazehaya-sensei led his class into the room. For a second, everything got quiet as the two classes sized each other up. Some lucky students had friends to now partner up with, but most of them were looking at the newcomers warily. Hana's eyes were scanning the newcomers when they landed on neatly combed green hair. She was almost afraid to look away from the hair in case it was who she thought it was.

Omura-sensei broke the tension, "Come on, choose your partner! Times ticking!"

Hana looked around desperately, hoping to find someone else she knew, but she was having no such luck. Her eyes finally landed back on Midorama, the other teen looking to the wall uninterested. In his hands was a fake plant, she couldn't tell what kind it was but it was very pretty. Debating her next choice of action, Hana watched as his classmates quickly abandoned him and no one went forward to talk to him. Though his attention stayed fixated on the wall she noticed that his taped fingers had begun to twitch, signaling his uncomfortableness. Never let it be said that Hana wasn't a sucker for the underdog.

She took a steadying breath before blowing it out of her nose. While her mind was set on its choice, her feet were having trouble cooperating and she urged them to move forward. One foot edged forward and the other followed its pattern until she was standing directly in front of the prickly teen. She looked up at him nervously, "Uhm, hello. Would you be my partner?"

Midorima glanced away from the wall to eye her, "Okay, but I can handle this myself."

"Erm, well alright," Hana grumbled, forcing herself to hold her tongue, "My seats over that way. Could you grab a newspaper for us?"

Her new partner didn't respond verbally; Hana wasn't even sure he heard her until he veered off to retrieve the afore mentioned newspaper. She made her way to the two desks and pulled out two mechanical pencils along with some paper. Deciding to be courteous, she left ample amounts of room on the other desk for Midorama's flower.

"Here," speaking of her new partner, he had just dumped the newspaper onto the two desks. He eyed her again before tentatively taking his seat beside her. Hana didn't think she was that frightening, but hey, her last impression hadn't been the best.

"So we're supposed to translate a couple of sections of this from English to Japanese," Hana began only to be cut off.

"I know," Midorima spoke, "It's a simple assignment."

Hana ran her hand through her ponytail, urging herself to calm down. While yes, it was a simple assignment; she didn't like the tone Midorima was taking. She rolled her eyes in aggravation, "Okay, yes, glad we agree on the simplicity of the assignment. Can we get started now?"

 _See,_ she thought, _two people can play the smart-ass game._

Thankfully, Midorima didn't offer anything in response other than a frustrated sigh. Hana took this as a good sign and continued to take charge, "I say we do the lifestyle section. It's easy enough to translate and they don't talk about politics or sports."

"Fine," his answer was short and to the point. He'd apparently lost his interest in her and was focusing on the flower in front of him, wiping off invisible specks of dust. Hana decided not to take offense.

"Here," she handed him half of the paper, "You do that side and I'll do this side. We can work on the horoscope and advice section together."

The boy beside her seemed to perk up at the mention of horoscopes and Hana belatedly remembered his obsession with Oha-Asa. _That's probably why he had the plant,_ she realized. Midorima accepted his half of the paper without complaint and the two began to work silently.

She had finished her two sections and was waiting on the boy to his, twiddling her pencil around her hand. About five minutes later, Hana let her curiosity get the better of her and she peeked at Midorama's paper. Her quick peek had brought a couple errors to her attention, but she was too nervous to mention them. Wetting her lips, she opened her mouth to politely point them out when Midorima spoke out of the blue.

"What?" If anyone asked, Hana would deny her surprised yelp. Her partner cut his eyes across to her, one of his eyebrows raised questionably. He huffed, "You've been staring at me, why?"

She tried to swallow, "Erm, it's supposed to be there not their."

He raised his other eyebrow, before turning back to his paper. The fluorescents glinted off his glasses so she couldn't read his expression. A few seconds passed before he responded, "Are you talking about here?" His taped finger pointed at the sentence.

"Yeah, the parade happened there as in psychically. Not their, because that refers to personally. Like they own the parade."

He didn't move for second, rereading his sentence over and over. A few more moments passed before he picked up his pencil and erased his mistake. He glanced at her before writing in the correct word. Hana figured this was the best progress she could hope for.

"If you're waiting on me to continue, there's no need," Midorima offered, "It would be stupid of you."

Hana scoffed at his attitude, "I told you we were going to do it together, which means we are. Besides you're almost done."

Midorima nodded silently, continuing his translation. As he wrote he observed, "You seem well versed in English."

"My mom works in America," she changed the subject, "What kind of flower is that?"

"It's a hydrangea. Obviously," he ridiculed.

"Obviously," Hana mocked under her breath. Her partner shot her an annoyed look but continued his translations. Another few minutes passed before he announced his completion. Hana nodded, "Okay let's get the advice section over with first. Then we can do the horoscopes."

"You should read them out and I'll write it down; not that is matters," Midorima pushed his glasses up and looked away.

"Yes sir," she grumbled before reading the column out loud, "Hello Judy, I'm having issues with my husband. It seems like he's growing tired of me, since he keeps staying at the office for hours after he gets off. He claims we need the overtime payment, but I know that's not true! Do you think he's cheating on me? We haven't had sex in a while, but I'm sure that's not the cause as it was always very remarkable every time we did it. Should I try to spice- Okay! I'm done! No more," Hana threw the paper down and covered her cheeks, the heat from her blush seeping into her palms.

Her partner was in a similar state of distress, his blush just as prominent as Hana's. He let out a cough, before fiddling with his glasses again. When he finally spoke, his voice came out at a slightly higher pitch, "Just skip that article."

"Alright, uhm," Hana rubbed at her cheeks distractedly, "So horoscopes? All twelve of them or just a few?"

"We've finished the quota of the assignment; it should be fine to only do a couple."

"Alright, well what's your zodiac sign?" Hana inquired. Despite all her information of the team, she had never considered their horoscopes.

"Cancer," he opened his mouth like he was going to say something else, but contained it.

"Oh cool, we're both water signs," apparently, that got his attention as he looked at her sharply, "Er, I'm a Scorpio."

"Of course," Midorima muttered, "Oha-Asa is never wrong."

"What?" Hana blinked at him, was she a part of his horoscope or something?

He grunted in embarrassment before reciting his horoscope, "Since Cancer ranks at number two today, be on the lookout for your water sign brothers and sisters. Scorpios in particular will need some of your good luck today."

"Oh, great. Bad luck, just what I wanted to hear," she pouted as she poked at the newspaper.

"Scorpios have had bad luck all week," Midorima added bluntly, further crushing her soul.

"That explains it," she muttered, "I bet that's why I got stuck with Kise this weekend. Stupid horoscope."

Midorima perked up at the name of his obnoxious teammate, "You were with Kise? Not that I care."

"Unfortunately. Now he thinks we're the best of friends."

"That sounds like something the idiot would do," Midorima scoffed. He looked toward his partner who was still pouting like a child. Despite her seemingly unhappiness at gaining Kise's friendship they seemed to have a common habit of overreacting.

Nodding somberly in agreement, Hana looked back to the untranslated horoscopes, "I'm just gonna read our horoscopes out, will you copy them down?"

With his noise of agreement, Hana began, "Cancer: This month marks the beginning of a new adventure. It may be time to let go of old habits so you can immerse yourself in new opportunities. You may get the sudden urge to travel, but make sure you have the finances before signing any paperwork."

She listened to Midorima scribble the words out, "Continue."

"Scorpio: Victory is sweet, but love is even sweeter. Do not let your analytic mind distort your emotions. This next month will be full of new trials and at the end a new door may open for you. Do not worry about which path to take, as you will realize you have no choice."

Hana stared down at the newspaper and blinked at the ominous tone, who knew a piece of paper could sound so aggressive? She looked to Midorima, who was still writing, but now a scowl had taken over his normally impassive face. Cautious, but curious, she spoke, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he pushed his glasses up, "These horoscopes are a mockery of Oha-Asa. They don't offer anything other than vague suggestion. Basically, they are pointless."

"I'll agree to that. At least yours didn't practically threaten you," she complained. It seemed like the universe was trying to warn her of trouble or it just hated her. It most likely hated her.

Midorima let out a humored snort, "As I said, those were useless. The only true horoscope is Oha-Asa."

"I'll look into it," she offered and was surprised by the pleased nod the green haired boy offered. He had finished his translation, finally, and Hana gestured to the paper; he handed it to her with little complaint. At first, she was just going to scan the paper for any grammatical errors but she was quickly distracted. His hand writing was _gorgeous._ She voiced her opinion, "Your handwriting is really pretty."

When he didn't offer any reaction other than a raised eyebrow, Hana worried she'd offended him and began to babble, "Like pretty for a guy. Handsome. Can handwriting be handsome? If it could, yours would be. I want to call it beautiful, but that's kinda weird, isn't it? I wish I could write like this-"

Midorima did nothing during her ramble but slowly raise his other eyebrow. The subtle action was enough to cause Hana to blush brightly and slam her mouth shut. They stared at each other for a few more seconds; Hana's blush traveling further and further with each passing moment. Finally, Midorima scoffed and turned away from her, effectively breaking the spell.

A loud horn startled everyone. A few of the more distracted students screamed out loud.

"Times up, everyone! Turn in your papers!" Omura-sensei proclaimed from the front of the classroom. Kazehaya-sensei looked at her in worn out amusement, obviously used to her over the top antics. Hana looked to Midorima wide-eyed, left hand clutching at her heart nervously. He looked at her in equal terror, though his was subtle, as only his cheeks had paled.

"Well," Midorima coughed and tried to stop the shaking of his hands, "Goodbye."

"Yeah," Hana stuttered as the boy picked up his belongings. As his hands circled around the flower Hana decided to be a good person, for just a moment, "It was nice working with you today, Midorama-san. Thank you."

Midorima stopped shortly before continuing toward the exit. He didn't look back at her in fear of her noticing his now slightly pink complexion.

* * *

Apparently, Scorpio's bad luck lasted through the week. So far Hana had failed two tests, lost twenty dollars, and spilled coffee over her favorite shirt and it'd only been two days. She was seriously considering going out of her way to purchase Scorpio's lucky item, if only to avoid fate's evilness.

She sat out in the courtyard during her lunch period, dabbing paper towels at her chest in an attempt to stop the spreading stain. It hadn't made a difference so far, but as many people say, persistence is key. At least she hoped so. Uoya, who had been sitting with her, had vanished about five minutes ago stating that he'd go find her a better shirt. She doubted it.

As she prodded at the stain dejectedly she heard footsteps coming closer, and thinking it was Uoya, lifted her head up to greet him. Only it wasn't Uoya, it was a hyper active blonde. A hyper active blonde she had no desire to see at the moment. Even worse was that he was being followed.

 _Huh, guess fate does hate me. Great._

"Imamura-chan!" Kise greeted, "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"…" she stared at Kise in exasperation, not having the mental stability to talk to him right now.

"So mean! I thought we worked on this!" Kise plopped himself down in the chair next to her, Midorima sitting down across from her.

"Imamura-san," he greeted before looking away.

Meanwhile, Kise threw an arm over her shoulder in an act of familiarity. Hana tensed and prepared herself to either punch him, throw him across the courtyard, or empty the rest of her coffee on top of his head. It was a toss-up, really.

"Kise-san," he tsked at her,"… Kise- _kun_ , please remove your arm before I forcefully remove it from your body."

Midorima let out a snort as Kise quickly retracted his arm. She ignored Kise's pitiful whines of how cruel she was to focus on his companion. Midorima met her gaze with an impassive face, refusing to give her any hint on _why_ he was here.

"What happened to your shirt, Imamura-chan?" Kise asked to break the silence.

Instead of answering for herself, Midorima did it for her, "Scorpio's have terrible luck today. Even worse than yours, Kise."

Latching onto the offered change of conversation, Hana turned to Kise, "What's your zodiac sign?"

"Gemini!"

"…figures," she sighed out, resigned.

"Wah?! What's that supposed to mean!?"

"It means you're an idiot, Kise," Midorima answered. Hana let out a dry chuckle at Kise's expense causing the blond to look between his two companions, considering. Hana hated that look.

"Do you know Miroima-cchi, Imamura-chan?" Kise tilted his head, "You two seem awfully familiar~"

"We worked together the other day," Hana answered, "And stop implying things! First Kuroko-kun and now Midorima-san!"

"But it's so much fun!" Kise sang before bringing his face close to hers, "Look at how much she blushes, Midorima-cchi!"

"Kise."

"I'm going to stab these chopsticks into your eye sockets."

"…Imamura-san," Midorima reprimanded her, slightly terrified. Kise had quickly vacated his seat and was now sitting beside Midorima, staring at her with huge eyes. She glowered at them both before turning her nose up and looking away.

A few silent seconds passed and Hana was surprised neither of them had left. She looked back at them in caution before huffing out a large breath. Grudgingly, she apologized, "Sorry. Today's been a shitty day. I wouldn't really, you know, gouge your eyeballs out."

"Good to know!" Kise's voice had gone up a few octaves and Midorima was still staring at her wide-eyed.

"What is with this tension…" a new voice trailed off, "Oh, it's you."

Three heads turned to the left to look at the newly arrived Uoya. The sixth year was smiling pleasantly but his eyes were narrowed in on Midorima. The green haired boy looked back at him contemplatively, pushing his glasses up his nose. Uoya's smile cracked at the subtle action and Hana watched his fingers twitch against the pile of clothes he held.

Deciding to break the newly developed pressure, she spoke, "Were you able to find a shirt?"

"Yeah," Uoya answered without looking away from his self-declared nemesis, "They didn't have any girl's shirts so I grabbed you one out of the guy's side."

"That's disgusting. But thanks," Hana stood up to take the afore mentioned shirt from him, only to be stopped by a surprise hug. Whoever they were, they were damn lucky to have pinned her arms down when they hugged her.

"You can't wear that! How gross!" Kise lifted one of his arms from around her waist to take the shirt from Uoya. He lifted it up to his face and pretended to gag, "Look at this, think about how many diseases it could have!"

A swift hand popped him on the back of the head, forcing him to drop his hold on Hana, "Midorima-cchi!"

"Shut up, Kise."

Hana watched Uoya twitch dangerously, "Hana-chan, what are they doing here?"

"Trust me, if I knew I'd tell you."

"Imamura-chan! You're just as mean as Midorima-cchi! We just wanted to talk with you," Kise slithered up to her and pouted. Midorima shot Kise an exasperated glare, but by now he was used to his annoying ways.

"Honestly, what are you doing here?" Hana shot back. She wanted to know, she'd expect this behavior from Kise but never from Midorima. Speaking of the green haired boy, he looked away at her question, refusing to make eye contact.

"Midorima-cchi wanted to give you a present," Kise smiled, "And I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see my newest friend!"

"…Friend? Hana-chan?" Uoya whispered in the background.

"What—I did not!" Midorima flushed as he turned to look at Kise, "Don't imply—Kise!"

Another smack landed itself on Kise's head, sending the blond to the floor. Everyone ignored his pitiful whines as they lapsed into silence. Uoya was glaring fiercely at Midorima and Hana was watching the two warily. Midorima had turned away from everyone, again, and was uttering various insults under his breath.

"Erm…" Hana began, "About that so-called present?"

"It's nothing," Midorima countered, staring at the trashcan of all things, "I just knew Scorpio's were having bad luck this week. I had your lucky item lying around; it would be pointless to waste it."

"What the…" Uoya utter in stunned astonishment. _Are Hana-chan and Midorima-baka are friends too?_

"Well, what is it?" Hana encouraged. Despite her reservations with the rest of the first-string team, she was curious. You know that feeling when you see a sleeping animal and you want to poke it with a stick, just to see what happens? Well that's how she felt now.

A well-aimed object was suddenly flying at her chest. She and Uoya let out similar yelps of shock; his out of fear for his friend and Hana's out of surprise. As she tried to catch the tiny object, she grieved the foreseeable loss of her dignity. Four out of seven of the demon team had made her scream in fear. It was not a good outlook for the rest of the group.

"What was that for!" Uoya snapped.

Again, Midorima ignored the confrontational sixth year and spoke toward her, "You have terrible reflexes."

"She really does," Kise inputted unhelpfully from the ground. Hana took a deep breath and counted down; _4, 3, 2, 1. Do not murder. Murder is a sin. You will go to jail._

"Well, I didn't expected-" Hana looked at the object in her hands, bewildered, "A Hello Kitty pin? To be freaking launched at my face!"

"It wouldn't have hit your face. My shots never miss," Midorima spoke confidently. Kise nodded eagerly in agreement from his position on the floor.

Hana clenched her fist around the pin and huffed out of her nose. Why were they both so confident? Obviously, they'd never had sharp objects thrown at their faces or they'd understand her indignation. _Er,_ she mentally paused, _at least Midorima hasn't…_

Meanwhile, Uoya was starting to shake. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, Hana prepared herself. As soon as he opened his mouth, Hana was on the move. He started speaking, "Your shots aren't that-"

A hand covered his mouth and Hana smiled at the two players over Uoya's shoulder. She felt Uoya begin to stir and tightened her hold; she brought her other arm to rest over his neck in a mock chokehold, but because of the height difference, she had to jump onto his back. Taking advantage of the new situation, Hana wrapped her legs around Uoya's waist and clung to him. As his arms began to flail Hana's grin stretched even further. _Oh, how the tables have turned._

Midorima and Kise blinked at the spectacle as they sweat-dropped. Kise was having traumatic flashbacks of his encounter with Hana in the bathroom and Midorima was just disturbed. The manager resembled a type of monkey he'd seen on a documentary awhile back, complete with the dopey grin and everything.

"So," Hana's tone was casual, "What's up with Hello Kitty pin?"

Midorima stared at the strange display, "It's Scorpios lucky item for today."

Uoya began to twist his shoulders trying to force her off. Hana tightened her limbs and replied, "Okay, so why'd you throw it at me?"

"Uhm, Imamura-chan? He's getting a little blue…" Kise trailed off in concern. Hana smiled pleasantly at him but didn't loosen her hold on Uoya. Revenge was sweet.

"That's medically unsafe," Midorima added to his friend's observation.

"He's had worse. So, the pin?" Hana prodded.

"I owed you for the English assignment. You caught my errors and we earned a satisfactory grade; that's all," Midorima explained. In normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been surprised if he blushed, but now he was too focused on the strange duo in front of him to even consider it.

"I told you he got you a present!" Kise sang out. Another blow hit him on top of the head, but it was so fast Hana didn't see where it came from and only watched as Kise sunk back to the ground.

Meanwhile, Hana was slowly losing her hold on Uoya. His twisting had become stronger and her legs had already lost their grip around his waist. The only thing holding her to him now was one, as the other hadn't removed its position from his mouth. Time for this get together to go ahead and end, "Well, thank you Midorima-san! Anyway, I think it's time you guys go now!"

"Your welcome…" Midorima echoed, watching as Hana's legs were flung side to side, "…Goodbye then."

"But, I wanted to hang out with Imamura-chan," Kise whined as Midorima grabbed the back of his uniform. His teammate ignored him as he fisted the blonds collar and yanked, making Kise land on his back with an _oomph._ Kise was quickly dragged from the premise, his shouts fading with him, "Help me, Imamura-chan!"

Uoya had stopped struggling when the two players left, leaving Hana hanging limply from him shoulders, "Can I let you go now?"

A nod. Hana let out a sigh of relief and jumped off his back, rubbing her sore shoulders. Uoya did the same before rubbing a quick hand over his mouth, grumping, "Your hand tasted horrible. What the hell have you been touching?"

Hana quirked an eyebrow, "The lunch table."

Uoya gagged and spat onto the floor, "Hana! That's gross!"

"Well now you know how I feel! You're always sweaty!"

"Ugh," Uoya massaged his jaw, "I never did it like that! Why'd you stop me, anyway? You're normally all for insulting them."

"..Erm. Well you heard Kise-kun," Hana fumbled over his new nickname, "We may, sort of, be friends now? Maybe?"

"You and Kise?" Uoya deadpanned, "I thought he was just messing with you?"

"He's always messing with me. But I think he was serious, I don't know," Hana sighed out and glanced to the floor in shame. She had never had problems reading people before, but now she had no idea where she stood with anyone. Kuroko, Kise, and Midorima were all extremely hard to predict.

"You don't know? Wow, you must be pissed."

"You have no idea."

"Okay, so I get why you're being nice to Kise. But what about Midorima? Don't tell me your friends with him, too?" Uoya groaned at the mere thought of it. To him, Hana plus Midorima equaled hell on earth.

"No, we seriously only worked together in English. I think he was just being nice, which is still weird," Hana looked down at the Hello Kitty pin on the floor. She had dropped it during her wrangling of Uoya, but it still rested there just as obnoxiously pink as it was before.

"And the pin?" Uoya looked down at it too.

"I think it's my lucky item?" She ventured warily.

"I bet he cursed it," Uoya stated. That was the only result he could think of and it matched his hypothesis about the green haired miracle.

"… he's not a dark wizard, Uoya-kun."

"How else can you explain it! He never misses a shot, he's obsessed with fate, and he tapes his fingers!"

"What wizard has taped fingers?" Hana questioned, exasperated. She was listening with half an ear as she picked up the rest of her stuff. The shirt Uoya had brought her was suspiciously missing and Hana suspected it to be the work of Kise. If she caught sight of the blond later, she'd make sure he'd be sharing in her bad luck.

Uoya was still standing, face pinched in concertation, and Hana took his distraction as a chance to grab the Hello Kitty pin. It was cute, okay? And hey, it if had some type of magical properties she wouldn't complain. It wasn't like her day could get any worse.

"He has to tape his fingers to hide his fingernails! You know, wizards always have those nasty, claw like finger nails? Well, Midorima probably does too!"

Looking up to the sky, Hana moaned, "That's not the reason."

"I'll get proof!"

"Sure, if you get proof I'll believe you 100%," she offered as she finished zipping up her backpack, "You better get your shit together, bells about to ring."

"You need to tell me this stuff earlier!" Uoya grumbled at her as he raced to his book bag, shoving random food wrappers and pencils into its cavern. Hana rolled her eyes at his over dramatics and smiled fondly. As he continued his mad rush, Hana transferred the fond smile down to the pin laying in her hand. What could it hurt?

She fiddled with the back and released the pin before attaching it to her uniform. The neon pink clashed horribly with the blue and white of her shirt, but if the thing could bring her better luck the fashion disaster was well worth it. As he straightened up, Uoya noticed the pin and sighed in resignation.

"If it's cursed it's your own fault."

Hana didn't respond verbally, but mentally she agreed with Uoya. Despite not thinking the pin was cursed, she knew that if her trust backfired it would be her own fault. She was trusting Midorima to have given her Scorpio's lucky item, she was trusting Kise to be genuine in his friendship, and she was trusting Kuroko to continue being kind.

She'd always had trouble with trusting the wrong people. Hopefully, her past warnings against the team weren't going to be proved correct. She had unwittingly become too attached to certain members for a clean break, should anything happen and Hana was surprised at the tinge of worry she felt at the thought.

 _It would be my own fault. Could I accept that?_


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello again! I'm updating early because I've got a bust month coming up, so the next update might be awhile. Anway, here's a new chapter featuring Momoi (who is hard to get in character, fair warning)! Hope you enjoy and thank you for all your support!**

 **Warnings : Bad language, violent monologues, and poor editing. **

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

* * *

An Interlude of Girly Proportions

"You've befriended Kise-kun," was the first thing Hana heard as she sat down in her math class. She hadn't even noticed Kuroko when she came in; but there he was, scaring the shit out of her, yet again.

"Have you ever been punched before?" Hana offered grumpily, "Because it's going to happen sooner or later."

"I have not and I would prefer not to be," Her blue headed friend responded blankly. Hana gave him a sharp glance, but didn't reply any further. After the interesting meeting during lunch and subsequent mental dilemma, her emotions felt unsteady. Kuroko eyed her at the continued silence, "I was unaware you and Midorima-kun were also friends."

"We aren't," she deflected as she pulled her beat-up textbook out of the confines of her backpack, "What gave you that idea?"

Blue eyes flicked down to the button attached to her shirt then back to her. Hana didn't need his answer to be vocalized, the meaning perfectly clear. But what remained unclear, was how he knew the pin itself was from Midorima. She questioned, "What makes you think this came from him?"

"He said he was going to give it to you—"

"You guys talk about me?"

"Please don't interrupt, Imamura-chan," Kuroko chastised, "But yes, you've been the subject of a few morning practices. Today's in particular."

Hana was stumped. Her mind replayed that sentence on a loop as she tried to understand the implications. So far the outlook wasn't favorable. A quick daydream rooted itself in her head:

" _Have you gathered the information asked for?" A shadow questioned in the darkest corner of the room._

" _Yes, sir. Our agents have befriended the target and are in the middle of the infiltration process," a similar shadow answered as a quick shine flashed across their glasses._

" _Good. Agent Ghost?"_

" _I've discovered the targets weak spots. Target remains easily startled and unaware of their surroundings," answered the figure in front of the window. Another figure beside it let out a happy chuckle at their words._

" _It was almost too easy, Boss-cchi! They didn't even put up a fight when I confronted them."_

 _A sinister smile flashed across the bosses face as he turned around, "Perfect, all is going as planned. Agent Four? Prepare to eliminate the subject."_

 _An annoyed sigh from the smaller of the two figures in the doorway, "On it. Could have given me something more challenging though."_

 _The larger of the figures stopped their chewing to voice an opinion, "Just crush them. I'm bored of this."_

" _It will all be over soon," the boss stated and his eyes flicked forward to stare straight ahead. Her mind was assaulted with red as the dark room faded._

"-Imamura-chan?"

Hana blinked back into focus. Green eyes moved toward Kuroko in a daze and blue eyes stared back at her, showing a minute amount of concern. Hana cleared her throat awkwardly and tried to shake the memories of the daydream away, "Yes? Did you say something, Kuroko-kun?"

"You zoned out after I mentioned talking about you this morning. I hope I didn't upset you?"

"Oh no," she anxiously denied, "I just got lost in my thoughts for a minute. Er… You guys don't practice with the lights off, right?"

The subtle look Kuroko shot her made her feel like the dumbest person on earth, but he remained polite, "I believe that would be impossible."

Hana nodded with a forced laugh, "Sorry, stupid question." But her thoughts did not quit, _he didn't deny it!_

Kuroko blinked at her, face blank. Hana could feel his eyes doing that strange stare-into-your-soul thing and she shivered. The blue headed boy furrowed his brows. Hana started to sweat. His lips turned down into a tiny frown and in turn, Hana felt her soul leave her body. Finally, he sighed before turning away letting Hana release her captured breath. A few silent seconds passed.

"You're very paranoid, Imamura-chan."

"Stop reading my mind!"

"Your thoughts are too loud."

"—That's not even possible."

* * *

"41 out of 50! You're definitely improving, Uoya-kun!" Hana cheered from the sideline during her teams practice. Her younger friend offered her a smug grin before racing after the rebounding ball.

Practice preceded normally, as usual. Kitano was back in the game after recovering from his injury and his loud laughter and taunts were received with varying levels of welcome. Uoya was still working on his accuracy along with two other first years. Meanwhile, Futabatei was leading the second and third years through some new drills for the next upcoming game. On the sidelines coach was fiddling around with his phone, Saiki-san was studying for his chemistry exam, and Hana was enjoying the benefits of her lucky item.

She'd had never guessed that it would work so quickly! First, her math teacher agreed to let her retake the test, then she'd found some of her lost money in the recess of her bag, and finally when she'd ordered a drink out of the vending machine after class it had gifted her with not one, but two delicious beverages! It was safe to say that Midorima was now off her shit list.

"You look happy, Imamura-san," her coach interrupted her happiness. He was standing beside her, phone in hand but a curious look dominated his wrinkled face. Hana scowled minutely, _He doesn't have to sound so surprised._

"I guess so, Matsunaga-sensei. Today's been alright," she responded neutrally, but her face was shadowed by a frown, _I feel like he's digging for something._

"Interesting," he hummed as he texted, "Mind helping the team with drills?"

Hana groaned dramatically, _there it is. He knows I hate having to do that!_ Coach spared her a quick smile, yet Hana could tell he was serious in his order. She responded by offering a pout, "What do you want me to do?"

"Just keep the balls in control. The shooting practice seems to be getting a bit wild," well that was an understatement. If Hana didn't know better, she'd have said the three first years were missing their shots on purpose. Uoya was still taking things seriously, but the two others were half heartily throwing the ball at the hoop causing it to bounce in erratic patterns all over the court. Catching Hana's annoyed grimace, Coach continued, "Feel free to use any means necessary."

"…Any means?"

"No blood, please," he amended. _Awh, he knows me so well._

"Okey-dokey! I'm on it coach," she had _so_ many plans. So many. With a skip to her step, Hana made her way over to the three first years. Uoya stopped automatically, warily eyeing Hana and the observing coach. The other two only gave her a dismissive glance before continuing to massacre the hoop. Clearly, they had been free of her wrath for too long. Taking a long sip of her soda, Hana purred out, "Whatcha doing guys?"

Uoya whispered a small curse at her tone, but the other two remained dense and oblivious. The blonde one, Yanagawa-san, even smiled at her. The other one, Sugimura-san, answered, "Uh, practicing?"

"…Really," her tone was drenched in sarcasm, "Looks to me like you're just screwing around."

"Hana-chaaaaan," Uoya whined out, "Don't do this."

Yanagawa-san had gone silent at her rebuke, but the other one seemed to take offense and growled, "Like you have room to talk. You just sit on your ass all practice. Give us a break."

"Give you a break? Hell no, especially not after that statement. I sit on my ass, you say?" Hana advanced forward, "Who makes your schedule, who studies the other teams, who plans your drills, who brings you water, who does your _goddamn_ laundry?"

Sugimura scoffed, "Fat load of good that did us. If we hadn't had help last weekend we would have been slaughtered."

"That is no way to talk to your seniors, brat. And did it ever occur to your microscopic brain, that if little brats like _you_ actually practiced, we wouldn't have had that problem!"

"Okay, okay, let's all calm down…" Uoya started looking for his fellow sixth year, but Yanagawa had left the premise with the excuse of a bathroom break. Unbeknownst to the bickering group, Coach had put down the phone and was watching the scene with a smirk. He decided having a manager was great advantage.

"Yeah, listen to your bitch, Manager-chan," Sugimura smirked.

"…You idiot," Uoya deadpanned.

"Uoya-kun is not my bitch," Hana hissed and came to stand face to chest with the arrogant brat, "But if you don't shut your mouth, I'll turn you into one."

"You can't even reach my face! What're you go-" he choked off as Hana fisted the front of his jersey and twisted.

Pulling the sixth year down to her face, Hana smiled sadistically, "Oh look at that! We're the same height now."

Sugimura snarled at her, but Hana just kept smiling. Refusing to admit to his defeat he growled, "Let me up."

"No can do, Sugimura-san! You are going to listen to me, you ungrateful little shit. I'll let you go afterwards, is that clear?"

"Crystal," he snapped at her. Hana smirked at his frustration before poking a sharp finger nail into his chest, causing him to wince.

"Good," she purred, "I'm going to let you go and you're going to actually practice. You shoot that ball as best as you can; because I _will_ be watching you."

"I've got it!" Sugimura responded, "Now let me go!"

Hana released him unexpectedly, causing the sixth year to stumble back and put a hand to his aching throat. Sugimura shot her a glare before returning to his position and shooting the ball as hard as he could. The ball slammed into the backboard, but instead of bouncing off the hoop like it had been, it went straight through the net. It was silent for a beat and Hana could swear she heard a cricket singing. Another second passed before Sugimura gaped, "…Wah?"

"Weren't expecting that, huh?" Hana pondered loud enough for both boys to hear. She let a small smirk tug at her lip, "You play best when you're under pressure or, as we've learned, angry."

"I hadn't been able to do that all day!" Sugimura was still gaping, pointing at the hoop with a disbelieving finger.

"You didn't have the right conditions. Now you do," Hana's tiny smirk blew into a full-out one at Sugimura's continued astonishment. The sixth year looked away from the hoop to look at her, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Understanding the situation, Uoya drug a heavy hand down his face. His voice was exhausted when he spoke, "Next time could you please inform us when you plan something like this."

Hana gave him an innocent look, "Plan what?"

A beat. Uoya stared at her, "You did plan that, right?"

"I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about, Uoya-kun," she daintily took a sip of her drink making Uoya fall to the floor in unneeded dramatics. Behind him Sugimura was still gaping and Hana momentarily worried it would be a permanent look on the cute sixth year. Glancing back to Uoya, who was dragging himself off the floor, she caught the sight of his face paling at something behind her.

"Hey! Look out guys!" Hana recognized the yell as Kitano's.

Before any of their little group could respond, an extremely hard object slammed into the back of Hana's head. At the exact second she saw an orange ball rolling away from her, Hana registered the now soaking wet feeling of her shirt. A slow look downward proved that, yes, that was her delicious soda now spreading across her already stained shirt.

Her voice came out in a threatening rasp, "Kitano."

"It was not me!" Kitano stood a safe distance away, hands waving frantically as he denied the claim.

" _Kitano,"_ Hana raised her voice, ordering the boy to come closer. He refused and did the exact opposite by scooting further away.

"Uhm… Hana-chan? Maybe you should go change?" Uoya prodded as he eyed the new transparency of his friend's shirt. Following his gaze, the surrounding boys averted their eyes. No one wanted to risk peeking incase their manager found out; she'd skin them alive.

Hana ignored her friend as she watched Kitano with the eyes of a predator. She had her lips pulled back in a snarl and was preparing to launch her attack when a sharp whistle cut everyone off. Coach had come to stand near the grouping and both of his grey eyebrows were raised at the spectacle in front of him. He cleared his throat before speaking, "I believe, Uoya-san is right. Practice is about over and Imamura-san? Please go ahead and change."

Hana snapped her head to Matsunaga-sensei, mouth opened and ready to fire off a response. Ignoring his manager's ire, Coach looked to the ceiling in exasperation and gestured a tired hand at Hana's body.

Blinking, Hana looked down. She was greeted by her stained shirt, but on closer expectation she could see unwelcomed amounts of pink appearing in suggestive regions. _Oh my god. Kitano!_

Hana moved so quickly no one could see where she had gone and all that was left was a small cloud of dust. When her absence was noticed, the remaining teammates looked at each other in overt relief. A few had small blushes covering their faces, but most of them were just happy to be alive. Escaping their manager unscathed was a welcomed accomplishment.

Matsunaga-sensei watched his pupils in resignation, letting out a forlorn sigh, "Why couldn't I have a normal team?"

* * *

"Stupid, Kitano. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," Hana huffed as she scrubbed at her poor shirt. The purple soda had completely and utterly ruined it. Not to mention the coffee from earlier! She looked like a disgusting, technicolor mess. She huffed again, "Stupid."

As she scrubbed she caught sight of the still pristine Hello Kitty pin taped to her shirt. Clearly, the item possessed lucky powers but they focused more so on itself then her wellbeing. Giving the inanimate object a scathing glare, Hana ripped it from her shirt and placed it on the washing machine. She'd put it back on later. If she could ever find a clean freaking shirt.

"Kise and Kitano are going down," she vowed. She hadn't forgotten how Kise had taken her earlier change of shirt, thus leaving her with this mess covering her. Another fierce scrub. When her hand began to ache, she stared at the soapy mess, begging for it to magically clean itself, but the fates ignored her plea.

"Well, this is going absolutely nowhere," she muttered to herself, "Might as well take it off."

Figuring she'd wait until everyone cleared out to go rummage through the boy's lockers to find a replacement, Hana stripped the sticky shirt off. Giving it one last disgusted grimace, she tossed it into the sink. She'd take care of it tomorrow. Now, she was standing awkwardly in the middle of the club's laundry room half-naked.

"…I feel like the star of a bad porno."

Oh well, as long as no one came in she'd be okay. Walking over to the washing machine, Hana hauled herself up and sat on it. What to do now? She should have grabbed her bag, but of course she'd mucked up and forgot it. Left to entertain herself, Hana looked around the room for inspiration. The laundry room was painfully empty except for a large pile of sweaty jerseys. She scoffed, "Screw that. That's Kitano's job now."

Maybe a nap? Yeah, that'd be nice. Hana smiled at her ingenious idea and curled her legs up to her chest. Resting her head against the wall behind her and closing her eyes, Hana prepared to drift off.

She was out in seconds.

"Wah!" a shrill voice screeched out. Hana awoke with a start, arms and legs flailing around defensively. Sleepy green eyes landed on a shocked pink haired girl standing in the doorway with arms full of laundry. Recovering from her shock, Momoi realized she recognized the person, "Imamura-chan?"

Hana rubbed a tired hand over her eyes, "Momoi-san?"

"What are doing?" Momoi questioned, "Where's your shirt!"

"…my shirt?" Hana yawned out. Taking inventory of herself and the new person in the room, Hana realized that, yes, she was still half-naked. With Momoi-san. In the same room. _That bad porno vibe just went up a notch…_

Momoi blinked at her, incredulously, "What're you doing here, Imamura-chan? Your practice was out hours ago!"

"Hours ago?" She frowned as her brain tried to calculate, "…What time is it?" Practice got out at four… If it was hours like Momoi had said, it had to be around six.

"Six," Momoi answered as she looked away from the other manager to shake off her shock. The pink haired girl pushed her big pile of laundry further into the room and dropped it beside Hana's team laundry. Pink eyes glanced over her shoulder at Hana, "You haven't told me why you're here yet."

"I fell asleep," Hana replied as she forced herself to sit up. With a start, she noticed that she was still sitting on top of the washing machine. It was a wonder she hadn't fallen off.

"Where's your shirt?" Momoi continued as she sorted the laundry out.

"My shirt…" Hana tried to remember, "Oh yeah! Damn. It got ruined during practice and I didn't have another. I took a nap to pass the time so I could go out and steal one of the guys."

Unknown to Hana, Momoi scrunched her nose up. Borrowing one of her teammates shirts sounded disgusting, unless it was maybe Testu-kun's. She turned back around, this time with her arms loaded with a smaller pile of laundry, "I need to put these in there, would you mind?"

"Ah, no. Sorry," Hana rubbed the back of her head sheepishly before jumping off the washing machine. Well, it would technically be classified as a jump, but due to her tiredness, Hana stumbled on the landing and tripped. She clumsily landed on the floor and let out a pained moan, "This is not my day."

As she shoved the clothes into the vacated machine, Momoi let out a surprised giggle. Peaking over her shoulder again, "You okay down there?"

"Peachy keen," Hana responded. A few seconds passed before she covered her eyes with her palms and started to laugh. She tried to control it, but couldn't and the resulting noise sounded embarrassingly like a choking cat. In return, Momoi's giggles got louder and louder until she finally had to stop doing the laundry in order to calm down.

"Uhm," Momoi tried to control her laughter, "Would you like to borrow a shirt? I keep a change in my locker. It might not fit, but I wouldn't want to wear a sweaty jersey home."

"That would be great," Hana offered from the floor. She hoped she sounded as grateful as she felt, because honestly, wearing the boy's clothing sounded nasty. She peered up at the first-string manager from the floor and could almost see a bright halo surrounding her head. _Forget every mean thing I said about her, Momoi-san is obviously an angel of god._

"I'll go get it when I'm done with this," Momoi smiled at her. Hana grunted in acknowledgement before curling back into a ball. Despite the guardian angel in front of her, she missed sleeping. As the washing machine door banged shut, Momoi turned around and tsk'd at her, "Don't go to sleep on the floor, Imamura-chan!"

"….Fine."

"I'm going to go get that shirt now; if you're not up by then I'm not giving it to you!" Momoi informed her as she left. Hana's groan was ignored as she slammed the laundry room door behind her. Begrudgingly, Hana forced herself to stand up and wait by the dryer for her companion to return. Her eyes had just begun to slip shut when the door slammed open again, but this time with a much less cheerful Momoi.

Hana could only hear a few words that she was speaking, but the few she did were tainted in aggravation, "Aomine-kun's such a jerk. Can't believe he—ugh!"

The pink haired girl had a large tick pulsing on her forehead and her eyes were fiery as they glared down at her cellphone. Without sparing Hana a glance as she typed, Momoi gently tossed a bundle of clothes at her. Hana caught it easily enough, though her eyes stayed trained on the fuming fellow manager. She spoke cautiously, "Thank's Momoi-san. I owe you one."

"Huh?" Momoi blinked up at her, ignoring her phone. A smile bloomed across her pretty face, "Oh it's no problem, Imamura-chan! Us girls have to help each other out, right?"

"Right," Hana nodded, "But seriously, I owe you. Not too sure how I'd stand up to you, but if you need help with homework or something I'm your girl."

Momoi giggled again, but it was cut short as her phone tinged. Flipping it open aggressively, Momoi scowled down at whatever she saw. Her voice altered into discouraged mumbles, "Couldn't even tell me in person… Jerk… Aomine-kun…"

"Everything okay, Momoi-san?" Hana questioned. Hey, she owed the girl alright? Besides Momoi had an awesome puppy face and Hana couldn't ignore it. She had to help, her soul demanded it.

"I guess," Momoi pouted minutely, "It's just Aomine-kun. I was supposed to go shopping with him tonight, but he bailed on me!"

 _Oh god, that face._ Hana couldn't take it. One day her weakness for sad faces was going to get her in trouble because she promptly blurted, "Hey, I said I owed you, right? I need a new shirt anyway."

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" Momoi gifted her with a hopeful look and Hana couldn't look away. _How the hell do you say no to a face like that?!_

"Yeah, I'll buy food and everything" Hana offered before glancing down at her still bra-clad chest, "Just let me, you know, put a shirt on."

"Good idea," Momoi giggled as she watched the prickly manager fumble around with the new blouse. It was pink and Momoi was surprised how nice the color looked on Hana. _She should wear more color,_ Momoi mused.

"Sweet, well I'm good to go. I can't stand spending any more time in here," Hana glanced at Momoi before offering her a tiny smile, "Are you ready?"

"Definitely," Momoi agreed before glancing down at her phone after the other girl had left and in vengeance, decided against informing Aomine about her new plans. _Served him right, anyway! He shouldn't cancel last minute and over the phone no less!_

Besides, she needed to learn more about Imamura-chan and the opportunity had just presented itself perfectly.

* * *

Hana had never enjoyed shopping, but this was turning out to be alright. Momoi had led her down the street to the nearest shopping center which featured a surplus of fashionable teen clothing stores. Er, somewhat fashionable in Hana's opinion at least. Clothing had never been her forte; considering her day to day outfits consisted of white skirts and hand me down shirts from her neighbor's daughter.

But now, standing in front of the large full length mirror, Hana was beginning to understand why people might like clothes. Other than covering your nakedness, they could sometimes look mildly flattering. At least that was the case with this shirt. The grey brought at her eyes and, low and behold, she looked like she had some boobs! Now the skirt though…

"You know," Hana stated, "I wish we could wear pants to school."

Momoi glanced at her from the reflection of the mirror, pausing in her attempt to fix her hair, "Why? That shirt looks good on you, by the way."

"Thanks. But I hate shaving every day," she responded before pouting down at the price tag. _No way, I do not have that kind of money. Boobs will have to wait._

Momoi laughed and spun around to admire her backside, which even Hana could admit looked good, "That's understandable, I guess. But I don't think people would like you showing up to school looking like a gorilla."

"How rude, Momoi-san," Hana snorted as she got off the platform and returned to the dressing room to exchange shirts. She'd have to go with the cheaper option, no matter how good this one looked. Coming back to the large mirror, Hana raised an eyebrow at the fellow manager, "I thought you needed a new bikini."

"I do," Momoi nodded empathically, "But Aomine-kun never lets me try things on, he's so impatient."

"Speaking of him, does he know you're here with me?" Hana queried as she gathered up her things. It looked like Momoi had decided on the skirt she was wearing as well as the green bikini from earlier, which _thank god, I'm so hungry_.

"Ahaha, about that," Momoi admitted. Having heard her, Hana let out a loud groan and shoved her wallet into her bag. That was exactly what she needed, an over protective miracle jumping down her throat; que the sarcasm.

"Please tell him so he doesn't kill me," Hana ordered as Momoi returned to the dressing room. The pink haired girl's sheepish smile and answering agreement had Hana nodding, satisfied.

The light weight door flung open with Momoi's return, "He wouldn't kill you. He looks scary but he's just a big teddy bear deep down."

"Deep, deep, deep, deep down." Hana corrected. How anyone could see the tall boy as a freaking teddy bear was beyond her.

Momoi glanced at her as they walked toward the cashier, her pink eyes calculating, "I bet you two would get along. You guys are really similar, it's kind of freaky."

Startled, Hana choked on her spit, "How are we similar? I have nothing in common with that boy," she added as an afterthought, "No offense."

Laughing Hana's comment off, Momoi grinned as she ticked off her fingers, "You're both very crude. Both very lazy. You both curse too much. And finally, you're both little teddy bears on the inside."

"I'm not—damn it. I don't accept this," Hana protested as she dumped her shirt onto the cashier's counter. "Anyone other than Aomine and Kise, I'll accept."

"Akashi-kun?"

"Egkh, no thank you. Anyone other than your teammates."

"But that's no fun," despite her complaint Momoi was smiling as she paid for her items. Catching a glimpse of the price, Hana tried not to gape; because _holy hell_ that thing was expensive. Who in their right mind paid that kind of money for a piece on fabric on string!?

"So, I'm hungry. Want to go eat now?" Hana prodded and tried to direct the subject away from Momoi's teasing. The cashier handed them their bags, but Momoi's head was directed downward toward her flashing phone screen. Because Hana prided herself on her outstanding politeness, she gathered both hers and Momoi's bags. _Anything to get to the food faster,_ she consoled herself mentally.

"Mhmm," Momoi agreed as they walked, typing out a frantic message on her phone, "You're still paying, right?"

Hana hmphed at her, handing Momoi her shopping bag a tad too hastily, "I guess."

Grabbing the bag and texting simultaneous, _how the hell does she do that_ , Momoi shot her a small smirk, "You offered, Imamura-chan."

"…Bah," Hana grumped, "I was hoping you forgot."

"Nope!" The pink haired girl beamed, but Hana could see her amusement as the edges of her pink eyes crinkled. In turn, Hana rolled her own. Not out of annoyance per say, more out of resignation. She had offered, even if she was regretting it.

The two girls made their way to the mish mash of restuarnts located in the middle of the shopping center. It was an uneventful process filled with Momoi questioning Hana about every little thing. Well, other than that, there was a moment when Momoi started to talk about Kuroko, but Hana steered the topic away before it could take hold.

Trying to get the subject off of her, Hana questioned Momoi about her childhood with Aomine. Everything spiraled out from there as they started to exchange stories about their friends as they walked; Hana informing Momoi about some of Uoya's more memorable failures while Momoi talked about the first-string team.

Now they were sitting at a tiny table in the back of some ramen place. Momoi was chattering in excitement, regaling the tales of the miracles finer moments. Some of them were funny, some of them were a bit threatening, but out of all of them, one was the most shocking.

"…They stopped a robbery?" Hana gaped. She couldn't see it, the picture Momoi was painting didn't mesh with her ideas of the devil team. As a fuzzy outline of the events developed, her mouth dropped lower, "Midorima-san threw a box of _snacks_ and it actually _hit him?"_

"Yeah! It was amazing to watch," Momoi smiled wistfully, "They worked so well together."

Hana pointed a chopstick ladled with noodles towards Momoi, "They always work well together. Too well most of the time."

"I'm not sure about that. Lately, the teams been difficult," Momoi sighed and Hana didn't like the dejected face she wore. So far, this girl had been a perky ball of sunshine and all day; it was unsettling to see her this way. Not to mention the freaking puppy dog face! Momoi's lower lip had jutted out into the tiniest pout she'd ever seen and Hana couldn't handle it any longer.

Shoving another bite of noodles into her mouth, Hana dropped the chopsticks down and reached for her back pack. A flurry of flying papers alerted Momoi to her friends change of pace and the first-string manger sweat dropped. That was a lot of paper.

"God dammit!" Hana cursed as her arm disappeared into the black hole, "I know I brought it, where the hell is it?!"

"Uhm…" Momoi began but was cut off by a binder being flung onto the table between them. Hana released a satisfied cheer before noticing the mess around her and groaning in dismay. Meanwhile, Momoi blinked at the ratty looking notebook in front of her, _Is this what Tetsu-kun was talking about? It's so… outdated looking._

Hana was shoving papers back into her bag, unconscious of how messy the build up was becoming, "Open that, I think it's page 19? Yeah that page."

Momoi warily pulled the binder toward her, plucking off a receipt stuck to its cover, and flipped the book open to the directed page. She was greeted with a black and white picture of the first-string team. Kise and Kuroko were missing and Momoi noted the presence of Nijimura beside Akashi with their old coach stationed in the background. _This is from last year… everyone looks so young._ She ran a finger over the picture, _Aomine looks so happy. They all do._

"How'd you get this picture?" she questioned Hana in shock. Momoi didn't remember Hana being there for this and the only copy had been thrown away when coach retired. Pink eyes glanced up at Hana, awed and mildly suspicious.

"Er…" Hana rubbed the back of her neck, "I was a lot smaller back then. You know, tiny spaces and everything."

"You stole it?" Momoi's voice cracked at the end, either out of humor or shock. Hana had a feeling it was both.

"No! No, no. I made a photo copy, see?" she motioned toward the photo, "It's in black and white!"

"...That's not much better. The photo was in coach's office!"

"He never locked it!" Hana defended but avoided making eye contact with the incredulous girl. Mummering a few choice words under her breath, Hana continued, "That's not what I wanted you to look at anyway. The next page is a summary of their old stats."

Momoi looked at the old photo for a moment, unwilling to turn away from it. Letting out a wistful sigh, she followed Hana's directions and flipped the page over. At first, she thought Hana had been confused and told her the wrong page as the whole section was covered in different types of graphs. But as Momoi looked closer, she began to make out everyone's names.

Each member of the team had a tiny picture at the top of the page, with small lines indicating their power, even Momoi had one. There was also a bar graph with everyone's height, a pie chart detailing everyone's play time, a small timeline of their wins and losses, and in the middle of the page an unknown chart was detailing something Momoi couldn't figure out.

"What is this…" Momoi muttered in astonishment. She pointed her finger at the chart in the middle, mind reeling with the information stuffed into the tiny speckling of dots and lines.

"That's what I wanted you to look at," Hana admitted, "It's a correlation chart."

"Correlation of what?" Momoi had never seen a graph like this. At first glance it was just a pointless mess of dots and lines, but now she could see the information forming right in front of her eyes.

Hana leaned slightly over the table and pointed at the different colored dots, "Each of the dots represents an area of play that only that individual does. See Midorima-san's? It's basically all focused in the shooting section. But the lines that connect them show how one member interacts with another. See how almost all of them connect to Midorima's? It's because he's their main shooter."

Tilting her head at the old information, Hana pointed out another fact, "Aomine and Murasakibara have a lot of dots in the shooting section too, but the lines don't connect with as many as Midorima's."

Momoi stared at the paper, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, "But they all connect one way or another."

"Exactly," Hana nodded, impressed, "That shows that they use each other, as a team should. Take Midorima for example, again."

Hana pointed her finger at the section of green dots, then dragged it over the red section where most of the lines connected, "This is his and Akashi's correlation together. In order to score, most of the time when Akashi had the ball, he'd pass it to Midorima. They branch off into the purple, blue, and black section a couple times, but he mostly stayed green."

"I see that. But what are you trying to show me?" her pink haired companion had gotten serious. Momoi wasn't sure what Hana was implying, but the information was intensive and clearly leading to some sort of point.

"Okay, then stop looking at the details. Look at the whole graph. You see how many lines and dots there are?"

Momoi nodded in concentration. Hana was correct, there were multitudes of random lines connecting every single player. A few were bunched together in certain colors, like Midorima's and Akashi's, but every single dot had at least five lines connecting it to the others. But she'd already pointed that out; what was she missing?

"Now flip to page 29."

The sound of flipping pages was drowned out in the noisy restaurant, but Momoi could feel her heart beating in anticipation with every page. Page 26, page 27, page 28, page 29. This new page was like the earlier one, but the graphs had been updated with different information. They had more information, ranging from speed to reflexes and just like the last page, in the middle was a brightly colored correlation chart, but with different colors reflecting the new players.

Momoi stared at it for a moment, still not comprehending. The dots and lines were still there. Was it the different colors? It must be, because nothing else had changed. _Nothing else had changed…_ Momoi gasped, "They're the same!"

"Pretty much," Hana agreed, pointing at the new graph.

Her brow furrowed in irritation, "It's not completely accurate, stupid ghost thing. But yeah, everyone's lines still connect to each other. Kuroko connects to everyone equally, but some of the others have grouped off a bit. You see how that dark blue is focused only on Kuroko? That's Aomine. But since Kuroko acts as a sorta, uhm, middle piece? Anyway, because he doesn't take an offensive role, most of the lines that pass through him stay the same color," Hana trailed off as her words register, "I'm not making sense, am I?"

"No, no. I think I get it. You're saying Tetsu-kun's role basically binds the team together? It forces the team to continue to play with each other in mind," Momoi explained softly. It was incredible, really. Despite the growing strengths of her team, they still worked together. _They were still a team. Tetsu-kun is amazing._

"Sorta. It's not all Kuroko, though. See the red? Akashi still knows where his team's strengths are and uses them," Hana admitted. Across from Hana, Momoi was listening to her every word, eyes locked on the paper in front of her. The information was clicking together piece by piece in her mind and the bigger picture had started to reveal itself.

Hana continued her explanation after a pause, "It's the rest of them that are grouping together. Aomine has Kuroko, but he mostly plays singularly. Murasakibara has left his offensive role and focuses solely on defensive, alone. Kise is okay I guess; I don't have any information to compare him too. But Midorima is still shooting, although his passing has taken a hit. He forgets to pass the ball into a better position and takes shots irregularly."

Momoi absorbed the information as her awe faded. Everything Hana had explained reflected the past games they had participated in. She had noticed her team's new developing style of playing, but how could you not? They were dominating every rival they faced.

But they had been drifting apart and now she understood; their developing strengths were forcing them too. Yet Tetsu-kun and Akashi were keeping them together, somehow.

"I think I get it. As they grow they separate," Momoi muttered as pink eyes flicked to the different charts.

"Basically," Hana agreed, "But that's not really why I showed you that. I wanted you to know that they still play together, it's just a different style."

Pink eyes stared blankly at Hana for a moment, still lost in the charts. Then Hana's words registered.

"What?" Momoi's mouth dropped open. Hana shared all of that just because she'd gotten a little upset?

"Don't look at me like that!" Hana waved her away, face blossoming into a blush, "You looked sad, it was unnatural."

"You're so sweet, Imamura-chan!" The pink haired girl plastered a large smile on her face, but inside her thoughts were whirling at this newly discovered personality trait.

"It wasn't that big of a deal…" Hana wiped her hand over her face as Momoi continued to beam. She hadn't planned for the other manager to be this happy; she'd just wanted her to understand.

In fact, think about it, why was Momoi so excited? Hana had just admitted to having insane amounts of information on their team. Cautious green eyes peered at Momoi, "You aren't angry about it?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Momoi blinked. She didn't answer right away as she mulled the question over. As a member of the team, she was decidedly wary about the influx of information. As a manger, she was in awe over it. But as a friend, she was just happy Hana decided to share it. Momoi smiled genuinely, "I'm not. I don't think you'd do anything horrible."

"But…" Hana was stumped. If Momoi had told her that she possessed information about all her teams gaming styles, Hana would be pissed. Not worried, just flat out pissed. But this angel of a girl in front of her was _smiling._

"You've had that for a year now and haven't done anything. I think that's a pretty good judge of character," Momoi offered in explanation. Her voice was gentle but the underlying tone was firm and decided. It was almost as if Momoi knew her well enough to be certain- _wait._

"You used this as a chance to spy on me," Hana deadpanned.

"Yup!" Momoi grinned, unashamed, "I just wanted to know a bit about you. Ki-chan and Tetsu-kun think highly of you. And even Midorin likes you!"

"He doesn't like me," Hana denied automatically. Meanwhile, green eyes narrowed at the other girl, "I really want to be mad you planned this, but I'm leaning toward impressed."

"Eh heh, I didn't plan for all of this to happen. I was just going to find you after practice and talk to you. Everything else that happened was coincidence!"

Coincidence, huh? Hana thought back onto their spontaneous meeting; there was absolutely no way Momoi could have planned _all_ _that._ Humming thoughtfully, she accepted the explanation, "Alright, I guess. Have I passed your tests?"

"Most of them," Momoi admitted, "You passed my expectations at least."

Hana spluttered as she lost the reins to her anger, "That better be a compliment."

"It was! I hadn't been very impressed with you before this. Sure, you stood up to Akashi-kun but that doesn't mean much to me," Momoi glanced toward the binder thoughtfully, "Though you did fail one test; I wanted to make sure you weren't dangerous. Which you clearly are."

"… so where does that leave us?" _Talk about a plot twist_ , Hana lamented mentally.

"Hmmm," Momoi hummed and rested her chin on a dainty palm. Hooded pink eyes bore into Hana, "I like you, Imamura-chan."

"Oh," Hana swallowed to dampen her suddenly dry mouth, "That's, uhm, great."

For a second there, Momoi seemed to channel the demonic captain. The girl could pull off the intimidating look well; it was no wonder she was the first-string manager. You'd have to be strong to keep all those boys in line, which she clearly was. Across from her, Momoi cracked a smile before her serious mask dissipated and she burst into soft giggles.

"So, friends?" Momoi offered the metaphorical olive branch as her laughter died down.

"Friends," Hana agreed before picking up her forgotten chopsticks and shoving noodles into her mouth. She faintly heard another giggle, but her focus was now on the delicious food in front of her. _Stress makes me hungry, I can't help it!_

After the plot twist of hell, everything seemed to flow a lot smoother. Both girls found that they could respect the other; Hana for Momoi's shrewdness and Momoi for Hana's information. The resulting conversation never strayed far from basketball, something which Hana greatly appreciated. She'd heard other girls blabbering about their crushes and that was certainly _not_ a topic to talk about with Momoi.

Unfortunately, both Hana and Momoi were so involved in their conversation that they didn't hear the happy jingle coming from Momoi's phone. The jingle continued for another ten minutes with varying moments of silence. At last, it cut off.

"So this one time, Aomine-kun was trying to sneak up on Testu-kun—"

"Please tell me you filmed it?"

"Yes! Want to see?"

 _Meanwhile_

"Pick up your phone, dammit," Aomine cursed into the dial tone.

Annoyed blue eyes narrowed at the shopping center in front of him. He would never admit it to Satsuki, but he felt guilty for not going with her this afternoon. Texting her earlier had absolved some of the guilt, but his over protective instincts had flared when she informed him she'd gone with someone else.

So now, here he was with his childhood friend not picking up the damn phone.

He huffed before pocketing it, "What a pain."


	11. Chapter 11

**So class got cancelled this afternoon, which means I got to write! And since you guys seemed to like the last chapter so much ( _which oh my gosh, you guys made me so happy with all the reviews)_ I decided to go ahead and post the next one. I had some issues with Aomine's personality since he's evolved from the innocent sixth year he was last year, but he hasn't hit the "the only one who can beat me is me" stage yet. I tired to find a happy medium and I hoped it worked out? Also, obligatory main-character-gets-a-pet cliche is included since I like dogs. Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Warnings:** **Bad language, violent thoughts, and poor editing. If you're afraid of dogs, there is also a dog.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any other places/things/events related to canon or real life.**_

* * *

Ahomine Syndrome

You know that feeling when you _know_ something isn't right? Call it intuition, your sixth sense, whatever. Hana didn't know the correct word for it, but she was practically drowning in it. It had started about fifteen minutes ago and as such, her conversation skills had begun to fail her. Even Momoi had noticed.

"You okay?" Momoi prodded after Hana failed to reply to her earlier question. The black-haired girl was staring into space with glazed eyes. It was quite a change from her earlier attentiveness.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah. I'm good," Hana mumbled in return, glancing over to her companion.

Momoi scoffed at her blatant fib, "Don't lie to me, Imamura-chan, you've been staring over there for a while now."

It was true and the couple she'd been staring at had slowly grown uncomfortable with their believed scrutiny. The male partner was shooting her an offended glare as his companion stood to go pay for their meal. Hana winced guilty, "Opps."

"Don't mind them," Momoi chuckled at her friend, "But, seriously, is something wrong?"

Hana tugged her bottom lip into her mouth, considering her response, "I just feel weird. It's not a big deal."

"Is it something you ate?" Momoi pondered as she observed Hana. The girl did look mildly sick; her face was a pale sheet and green eyes were jumping from costumer to costumer.

"No, no. Uhm, you know when you feel like something bad is going to happen and your stomach twists up?" Hana explained, "That's how I feel now."

"Hmmm… I know what you're talking about, but I'm not sure how to help," Momoi shrugged her shoulders. It was a common symptom of anxiety, but Momoi didn't think she had anything to be anxious about.

"I'm probably overreacting," Hana admitted with a blush. Her imagination had a bad habit of running wild and filling her with paranoia, maybe now was one of those times. Kind of like this afternoon with Kuroko when she'd gotten defensive since Kuroko had mentioned Midorima talking about her. Wait, Midorima? _The pin!_

Hana gasped out loud with her revelation, "I lost the pin Midorima-san gave me!"

Momoi jumped in her seat, startled. Wide pink eyes watched as Hana pulled her backpack out and dug through its messy contents frantically. _She really needs to clean that,_ Momoi thought as she narrowly avoided a flying calculator. Momoi prodded gently, "I'm sure it's somewhere. Don't worry about it, Imamura-chan."

Shooting a grimace toward the other manager, Hana continued to dig, "I need to find it. I've had the absolutely worst luck this week and if that thing even helps a _bit,_ I want it."

Momoi blinked at her devotion. _Hana sounded a lot like Midorin for a moment there_ … _I bet he'd be proud of her devotion,_ she sweat dropped. Momoi tried again, "Maybe you left it in the dressing room?"

The flying paper suddenly stopped and Hana perked her head up to give Momoi a happy grin. A sharp finger pointed toward the pink haired girl, "That's right! Thank you, Momoi-san! I'll be right back!"

"Wait—" Momoi started but all that was left of her companion was a rush of wind, "- I was going to help you?"

Releasing a put-out sigh, Momoi pouted at Hana's vacant seat. At least the other girl had left her stuff which meant she'd be coming back, sooner or later. Unfortunately, that meant she'd have to wait here until Hana's return. Pouting once again for good measure, Momoi decided she might as well get started on her homework.

That was how Aomine found her five minutes later. Momoi had a pencil in her mouth and was chewing distractedly as she worked on her calculus homework. With an aggravated huff, Aomine walked into the ramen restaurant and stood directly behind her. The large shadow that fell over her table was what finally alerted Momoi to his presence.

"Hello? Oh! Aomine-kun? What are you doing here?" Momoi questioned, belatedly realizing she shouldn't be surprised at his appearance.

"You never picked up my calls," he complained as he threw himself into Hana's vacated chair. He tossed an arm over the back and leaned comfortably into it, causing the chair to tilt backwards. He let out a tired sigh, "Do you know how much walking I had to do? Pick up your phone, woman."

"You called me?" Momoi gaped and fished her phone out of her pocket. There on the screen was the flashing message for missed calls, times six. Pink eyes glanced at Aomine guiltily before offering a sincere apology.

Aomine nodded in acceptance only to be startled as a quick hand popped him on the forehead. Momoi barked, "Don't be so rude!"

Cursing he cradled his forehead, "How was I rude! You were the one not picking up the phone!"

"I didn't know! But you canceled our plans! Over the phone, Aomine-kun!" Another bop to the top of his head.

"I'm sorry!" Aomine ducked down to get away from her hand, "Stop hitting me!"

"Fine," Momoi crossed her arms over her chest before tilting her head to the side, "How'd you know I was here?"

Aomine straightened up warily, eyeing her for anymore surprise attacks, "We were supposed to come here today, I figured that's where you'd be. I just had to look for the pink hair."

Momoi's hand came up to tug at her hair in response and she shot him a small glare, "But you said you weren't going to come."

"Ugh," Aomine groaned and leaned his head back. He mumbled under his breath, "I felt bad, okay?"

"Awh," Momoi teased him with a happy coo, "That's so sweet, Aomine-kun! But you didn't have too, someone else came with me."

Still leaning his head back, Aomine grunted at her, "You told me. Who?"

"Oh," Momoi paused. She knew Imamura-chan didn't particularly like Aomine-kun and he likely felt the same way. Watching for Aomine's reaction, Momoi replied, "Imamura-chan offered to come."

Aomine didn't disappoint her with his reaction. She couldn't see his face completely but what she could see had tensed up. Looking at the edge of his revealed chin, she watched his lips pulled downward a fraction. His jaw clenched once before he spoke, "What's with everyone? That girl keeps popping up everywhere."

"I can't speak for everyone else," Momoi hedged, "But she's an interesting person."

"Ugh," a tanned arm came to rest across his eyes, "Interesting, huh? Weird way to say bitchy."

Momoi threw a pencil at him and glared at her friend, "Be nice. I like her and most of the other guys do too."

Wincing as the sharp edge of the pencil caught his skin, Aomine sat up and stretched his arms over his head, "Kise doesn't count. Idiot likes everyone with a pulse."

"Well, explain Tetsu-kun then! He likes her too!"

"Tetsu…" Aomine paused as he searched for an excuse, "He's nice to everyone. Even got along with Hizaki."

"Midorin."

Aomine scoffed at her continued pressuring, _Imamura's a witch, end of it._ Scanning his mind, but finding no answer as to why Midorima might like her, he shrugged, "Probably some weird crush thing."

"You are so difficult!" Momoi grumped at him from across the table, "Well I like her so you better be nice too!"

"Satsuki," Aomine groaned. He'd been expecting a fellow male to have accompanied his friend today, not some overly aggressive midget. Now, even Satsuki was friends with her; something that was going to get old quick. His friend didn't need any more violent females in her life encouraging her to beat him up. _Unless she can teach her how to cook; then I might be more accepting._

"Please, just be nice Aomine-kun. She's really not a terrible person," Momoi begged. Her eyes had become large pools of tears and she jutted her lower lip out. _If it works for Imamura-chan, it will work for Aomine-kun!_

"What is with that face," Aomine grumbled at her. He hated when she got all sad and weepy. He hated when all girls got sad and weepy, but especially Satsuki. Offering a resigned sigh, he agreed, "Fine. I'll be nice if she is."

"Thank you!" Momoi cheered with a happy smile. But contradictory to her smile, her thoughts were a bit more somber. _Only if she's nice, he said. This might not be a good idea…_

* * *

 _Where is it, where is it, where is it!?_ Hana fretted. She'd retraced their steps all the way back to the first shop they'd gone to. So far no sign of the obnoxious pink pin. Now, she was digging through a pile of clothes left in the floor of one of the dressing rooms begging for the lucky item to resurface.

"Where could it be!" Hana whispered to herself after she'd finished going through the pile of rejected clothes. She huffed and tossed a sequined dress to the side, "I've looked everywhere!"

"Mommy! Look what I found! Isn't it pretty!" Hana's blood froze. There were only a few things she could think of that would make a little girl that excited; a Hello Kitty pin happened to be one of them. She got to her feet slowly, praying that the little girl had found a teddy bear or something else meaningless.

"Where'd you find that sweetie?" Hana peered around the corner of the dressing room area. About ten feet away in the blouse section, a forty something woman was bent over talking to a cheerful girl with glasses. In the little girl's hand was her pin. The one she'd spent over thirty minutes looking for.

"It was on the floor! Can I keep it, Mommy? Please, please, please?"

"I don't see why not. It doesn't look like it belongs to anyone-"

"Actually," Hana started from where she appeared beside the duo. Plastering her innocent smile on her face, Hana tilted her head to the side and pointed to the pin, "I've been looking for that for a while. See, I lost it earlier and it was a gift from a friend."

"But," the little girl glared up at her, "I found it."

 _Great logic, kid,_ Hana mentally snarled but kept the cute smile on her face, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. But I'd really like it back, please?"

"Now just a moment," the mother had straightened up and was looking at Hana in contemplation, "I believe you're a bit too old for such things, yes?"

"Thank you for your opinion, but it was a gift from a friend and I'd really like it back," Hana tried to keep the smile, but dammit, she was pissed. Not only had she _unintentionally_ called Midorima a friend, but the little girl had retreated behind her mother and was sticking her candy covered tongue out in retribution.

"I'm sure your friend would understand," the mother continued. The little girl behind her waggled her tongue with a smug grin as her mother talked. Honestly, this was too much. Hana just wanted the freaking pin back, none of this other shit. The smooth voice of the older woman spoke again, "Thank you for letting my daughter keep it."

 _Now wait a goddamn minute._ Hana gaped at the woman and her little devil child. They had turned their back on her and were walking to a different section of the store. The little girl shot Hana one last grin over her shoulder and Hana decided she'd had enough of their bull.

Instead of retreating, Hana decided to follow them silently. When the little girl brought the pin out again she saw her chance and swooped in. Closing in on the duo, she appeared with a happy smile over the girl's shoulder. The mother and daughter yelled in union as Hana snatched the pin out of the child's loosened grip. Then, Hana ran like hell.

"Mommy!"

"Come back here!" The mother screamed at Hana's back, "Thief!"

Picking up speed, Hana kept running before screaming back at the over her shoulder, "It was mine, lady! Can't steal something that's yours!"

"Police!" The woman's voice echoed around the area, "That girl is a thief!"

"Oh shit," Hana coughed out in horror. Taking the nearest turn, she raced down an abandoned alleyway. The sound of the ruckus behind her grew louder and Hana had the delayed thought that maybe she should go find Momoi. Turning on her heel, she raced back down the alleyway to get her friend.

* * *

"Come on, Satsuki. You're doing yours, why not do mine too?"

"Do your own homework!" Momoi retorted, "You can't cheat off me forever."

"Why not," Aomine drawled as he tried to peek at her answer sheet, "Is that a four?"

"Aomine-kun! Don't-"

The door to the restaurant slammed open, making everyone present jump. A panting mess of black hair collapsed against the door behind them. Letting out another gasp for breath, Hana noticed all the eyes on her before frantically speaking, "Uhm, my apologies! Didn't mean to disturb!"

"Imamura-chan?" Momoi questioned loud enough for the other girl to hear. Across from her, Aomine was watching the scene with raised eyebrows.

Hana quickly made her way over after hearing the other girl. After all the trouble she had just gone through, Hana could care less about the goliath beside Momoi, "Momoi-san! We should go. Like now."

"Wah? What happened!?" Momoi fretted as she looked her friend over. Aomine was subtly doing the same and let out a snort at how disheveled Hana appeared. Her skin was flushed unattractively and her shirt was messily untucked from her skirt. _What a mess,_ he chuffed.

"I found the pin," Hana babbled as she tried to explain and simultaneously dig out her wallet to pay for the food, "It was in that store we went too, but a little girl had found it. Anyway, I had politely asked to have it back but the little demon spawn refused. Then her devil of a mom caught involved and told me to screw off and I just broke. So I kinda, sorta, stole it away from the girl? The point is now we need to go because that woman is crazy and she'd probably turn me into a pelt or something."

"What," Momoi and Aomine deadpanned together. Hana shoved her money down, leaving a decent tip, you know, since she had practically shoved the doors off. Gathering her backpack and supplies Hana looked at the two expectantly.

"This is not what I had in mind," Aomine groaned as he stood up and followed Hana's example. Dark blue eyes narrowed on the second-string manager and Hana tried to ignore the shiver that went down her spine. As his eyes trailed up to her own, he scoffed, "She's not a terrible person? Stealing stuff from a kid?"

Hana didn't understand the context of his comment, but it was clearly meant to insult her. She shot a snarl over at the intimidating boy which caused him to raise an unconcerned eyebrow. His angular face had gone from neutral to threatening and Hana backed off her assault. _Do not challenge the giant,_ she noted.

Momoi was picking up her items and looking at her two prickly friends worriedly as she felt the tension spike. Hana was avoiding eye contact with the miracle beside her, but Aomine was doing the opposite as his eyes were laser focused on her every move. Momoi sighed at his antics, though she didn't comment, "So are you heading home now, Imamura-chan?"

Leading the little party of three through the exit, Hana glanced over her shoulder at Momoi, "No. I need to pick up a new pair of tennis shoes sometime this week. Might as well do it now."

"Oh! We'll go with you!" Momoi offered at the timely opportunity. His friend's statement made Aomine release another silent groan, but he kept pace with the two girls without much complaint. He'd dealt with Kise enough to handle another annoying pest.

Pausing outside and checking the pathways around them for the devil woman, Hana shook her head, "You guys don't need too. I've got this."

"But," Momoi looked up at the dark sky worriedly, "I'm not sure you should be walking alone right now."

Catching on to Satsuki's train of thought, Aomine inputted from the background, "She's right. Hurry up and lead the way." _Not that I care,_ he grumped, _I just want to go home._

Momoi shot him a warning glance as Hana's back stiffened, but the second-string manager kept her mouth shut. She liked Momoi and Momoi liked Aomine; so by association, Hana needed to be nice to him too. _Even if it kills me._ The two miracles heard Hana release a long sigh before her tension released itself and she began to stalk forward, only offering them a quick glance back.

"I told you to be nice," Momoi whispered to Aomine. The tall boy, for his part, didn't look overly concerned and shrugged her scolding off. In his mind, he could be a lot worse.

Meanwhile, Hana's thoughts were running a mile a minute. She was on the lookout for the devil family, trying to not snap at Aomine, while also trying not to let her fear of said boy show to either member. She noticed that Momoi had been right though; it had become increasingly dark outside. The path around them was covered with shadows and Hana forced her paranoia to screw off.

Behind her, Momoi shivered at the uncomfortable feeling she was experiencing. It was about nine o' clock now and the shopping center had mostly cleared out. In the meantime, Aomine was watching the people pass warily. He'd dealt with a fair share of people harassing Satsuki in the past and from his experience it usually occurred around this time.

"Hey, Momoi-san?" Hana had stopped walking and was looking around the closed stores in confusion, "Wasn't there a Foot Locker down here?"

"Yeah, I've been there before," Momoi responded as she came to stand beside Hana, "Wasn't it just over there?"

"Mhm…" Hana hummed as she looked in the direction. There weren't any lights on down the pass way, but maybe it was hidden around the corner. Keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings, Aomine watched the two girls chat pensively.

Tuning back into the conversation, he heard Momoi scold Imamura-san, "Don't walk down there!"

 _What an idiot,_ Aomine thought as he watched the annoying girl. Sighing out, he straightened up and headed toward her.

"I'm just going to look around the corner," Hana retorted as she slowly creeped into the dark passageway. Momoi huffed and steeled herself to head after her, but was beaten by a surprise. Aomine was following Imamura-chan. As she watched, Momoi let a tiny grin stretch across her face and hurried after Aomine.

"Slow down," Aomine ordered as Hana speed walked into the shadows. He raised a blue eyebrow when she listened, stopping right on command. Well, that was unexpected.

Realizing her mistake, Hana was thankful for the shadows hiding her blush as she snapped back at him, "Hurry up then. This is creepy."

"Then why the hell did you go down here?" he retorted as he and Momoi came to stand a few feet behind her.

"Bah," Hana huffed out her nose in embarrassment, "I'm not sure right now. Would you be happy to hear I'm regretting it?"

Aomine snorted when Momoi answered, "Yes, can we turn around now?"

A scurrying sound made all three teenagers freeze. Momoi wrapped her arms around Aomine's waist, Hana stepped backward closer to the other two, and Aomine took on a protective edge and snapped his eyes towards the noise. A few tense seconds passed before a tiny mouse scurried out from a crack in the wall. It's tiny beady eyes blinked at them before darting away.

"Wah!" Momoi jumped even further onto Aomine, but Hana and the navy haired boy let out relieved sighs. _Just a mouse,_ they thought simultaneously. The two exchanged uncomfortable looks before quickly avoiding eye contact again.

The calm was broken by a low growl that had everyone straightening up again. This time Hana yelled alongside Momoi and jumped back to join her hold on Aomine. For his part, Aomine was only a bit startled by the barrage of arms around his waist. As he fought for balance, navy eyes widened at the sight of a mangy dog growling from the shadows.

"Everyone calm down," Hana breathed out. Her arms tightened around Aomine and Momoi, _It's just a dog. A very angry dog, but dogs I can handle._ The dog's cataract covered eyes locked on Hana when she spoke and it took attentive sniffs of the ground in front of it before toeing toward their grouping.

"Goddamn trouble magnet," Aomine muttered above her ear. Hana would bet money he was talking about her, but Momoi's pitiful whine distracted her from snapping back. A glance forward showed the dog had started to move closer. When the dog heard Aomine's voice it's growl heightened as it continued to advance.

"What do we do?" Momoi breathed into Aomine's shoulder. Shrugging, Aomine watched the mutt warily.

Since it seemed no one knew what to do, Hana released her arms from around Aomine and took a tentative step forward. The growling lowered in pitch and Hana started to sweat, but she kept moving closer until she was about three feet away. _Way to close,_ her mind inputted unhelpfully, _It could kill you so quickly._

"Idiot!" She heard a voice snap behind her. Momoi hushed Aomine as she watched the scene with bated breath. The dog had yet to stop growling and now it's fur was standing on end. Imamura-chan knelt on the concrete and the dog paused at the sound. Momoi couldn't contain her gasp as Hana reached a shaky hand out for the dog to sniff and behind her she heard Aomine suck in a breath.

Hana winced as she felt its slippery mouth prod her hand, _please don't bite it off mister dog. I really need it. Oh god, what the hell have I done?_ The dogs nose left her hand and started sniffing up her arm and Hana felt her blood run cold, _He's going for my neck!_ But instead of her neck, the dog shoved his nose into her chest and started sniffing manically. Hana couldn't figure out what it was doing, but the growling had stopped and for that she was thankful.

"What's it doing?" Momoi whispered to Aomine as she watched the dog.

Aomine's shoulders were still tense as he was prepared to jump to the rescue incase Imamura's stupidity got her killed, "I don't know, but she's the dumbest person I've ever met."

In any other situation, Hana would have yelled at him; but she wanted the dog to remain calm and not murdering her. Taking a slow breath, Hana looked down to see what the dog's attention was focused on. She watched as it licked its scarred muzzle with a long tongue before licking at her shirt. Leaning back to get a better view, the dog followed her with its putrid breath. Now that she had a better view, Hana could see what it was licking. _The pin! It smells like that little girl's candy!_

Lifting a trembling hand and ignoring the returning growl, Hana slowly untapped the pin. Her actions made the growling stop and the dog tilted its head in curiosity. Removing the pin, she held it out to the dog. Apparently, it understood her meaning because it started to lick the rest of the candy off frantically. Its tongue tickled her hand and Hana let out a soft laugh. The dog whined happily in return.

"Hey puppy," she heard Aomine choke in the background, "Can I pet you?" The dog didn't give a verbal response, but Hana lifted her hand up and patted its head anyway. Her actions made it freeze for a moment before butting its head into her palm. She giggled, "That's a good boy!"

"Imamura-chan?" Momoi had let go of Aomine and moved closer to observe the now calm dog. It was huge. With Hana on the floor, it towered over her by a good five inches. Its blind eyes jolted over to her and Momoi froze until the dog rolled over onto its back to present its stomach and _other things._ Momoi covered her eyes at the sight.

Aomine let out a startled laugh, "He's huge!"

"Don't be crude, Aomine-kun!" Momoi scolded but didn't remove her hand. There were just some things you don't want to see and _that_ was one of them.

Hana sweat dropped as she scratched behind the dog's ear, "At least we know he's a boy."

"No kidding!" Aomine was laughing in the background. The noise caused Hana to roll her eyes, _teenage boys are weird._

"Okay, puppy. I'm going get up now, okay?" Hana's heart broke at the dog's whimper, but stood up anyway. Its big head nudged at her hip, making her stumble to the side. She frowned down at him, "Hey don't be rude."

The dog rumbled at her before trotting over to Aomine. Its big body reached Aomine's hip and in a very cat-like fashion, the dog rubbed against it. The tall basketball player stepped backward as the dog rounded him, "I don't trust it."

"I didn't know you were a scaredy-cat, Aomine-san," Hana teased from the side as she watched the boy avoid the dog. Navy eyes glared and she quickly swallowed her smile. Aomine lost the glaring contest when the big mutt nudged him in the side and he let out a surprised curse. Momoi laughed at the display before coming to stand beside Hana.

"He loves dogs," Momoi offered, "This one is just a little scary."

Aomine was trying to placate the dog with gentle words, but the dog was having none of it. In a move that startled everyone, it jumped up on its hind legs before putting large paws on Aomine's shoulders. Letting out a squawk, Aomine flapped his hands side to side. The dog took the given advantage and lolled its large tongue out before licking a wet stripe up Aomine's face. The boy blanched, "Satsuki! Get 'em off!"

"…I dunno, I think he's cute," Hana rebuked as the two girls watched. Neither one moved to help him.

"Which one? The dog or Aomine-kun?" Momoi teased before vacating her spot when Hana turned around. Green eyes narrowed on the pink haired girl in promised revenge.

"The dog!" Hana snapped with a blush. Momoi's giggles followed her as she ventured closer to Aomine and his new doggy friend.

"I think you've got a new best friend, Aomine-kun. Should I be concerned?" After lowering himself, the dog had twined its skinny body around Aomine's long legs and the poor teenager couldn't move. Aomine gave her a look, before stumbling as the dog pushed him.

"Get 'em off!" He grumped before turning pleading eyes down to the mutt, "Come on boy, go home."

"I'm not too sure he has a home," Momoi mused. The dog's blind eyes turned to her as she spoke, panting happily.

"Awhhh," Hana cooed sadly, "But he's so cute."

"Figures you'd say something like that," Aomine grumbled and pushed the dogs head away from his crotch with a grimace, "Keep out of there, boy."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Hana questioned as the dog retreated from Aomine with a pout and ventured back to her side. She petted his large head affectionately.

"Aomine-kun, be nice," Momoi side-eyed him with a frown. He was doing so good, figures he'd ruin it.

"Oi, I didn't say anything."

Trying to control her temper for Momoi's sake, Hana sighed before giving the dog one last pat, "Sorry boy, but I really need to go get some shoes."

"Oh yeah!" Momoi gasped, "I completely forgot about that! Do you think they're still open?"

"Last time I check they were open until eleven, if we can find the damn place," Hana bemoaned, the dog nudged her hip and pushed her, making her stumble toward Aomine. _What are you doing,_ Hana glared down at it, _don't push me toward that jerk._

"If someone doesn't do anything stupid again," Aomine drawled.

"Are you trying to start something?" Hana snarled back at him with bared teeth, _screw being nice, he's going down_. At her change of tone, the dog vacated its position.

"Nah," Aomine chuffed as he watched Hana puff up, "Just stating facts."

"Aomine-kun, Imamura-chan, stop it," Momoi chastised as Hana opened her mouth for a scathing retort. The dog barked his agreement from his place beside Momoi's legs and gave a slobbery doggy smile to the two arguing teens.

Successfully chastised Hana gave Momoi a regretful glance and stuffed her pride down. Now was not the time to start a fight. If she had to suffer through Aomine's presence, she'd do so quietly. Hana spoke tersely, "Fine. I'm going to head over to the store. If you guys want to come, well, up to you."

"Eh, I'd rather—" A sharp elbowed graced his stomach and Aomine blanched. _Stop hitting me woman!_

"Sure!" Momoi agreed and started to march ahead with a firm grip on Aomine's uniform. She wanted out of this dark passage as soon as she could. The dog trotted along beside her, making Hana raise an eyebrow. Following Hana's questioning gaze Momoi looked down at the dirty dog, "We should name him."

"Naming him will just get you attached," Aomine drawled. Navy eye's frowned down at Satsuki's tight grip on his shirt; she was going to stretch it out.

"Nūdoru," Hana spoke in the silence. Her tone was decided and Momoi gave her a bland look. _That wasn't what I was expecting,_ Momoi thought, _but okay…_

"What?" Navy eyes blinked at her, unimpressed.

"That's his name!" Hana declared.

"The hell? What kind of name is that!"

"The best," Hana retorted and Nūdoru barked at her voice. Hana motioned a hand to him, "See, he agrees."

"Like hell he does," Aomine denied, "Name him something tough. You saw his face, look at all those scars!"

"Oh and what would you suggest?"

"Junichi."

"That's even worse!"

"Anything is better than calling a dog _noodle_!" Aomine turned around and spat at her. Hana straightened up and glared him down. The two began to have a staring contest and neither teen wanted to be the first to blink. Seconds passed and they both narrowed their eyes in a contest of will power.

Meanwhile, Momoi had knelt beside the dog and patted his head with a tiny smile, "It's okay, this is just a weird form of bonding."

* * *

Turns out Hana was wrong; the store wasn't the way she'd thought it'd been. Their little grouping had wandered around for a good fifteen minutes trying to find the elusive location. Aomine hadn't shut his mouth the entire time and Hana was giving as good as she got. Their insults had turned from stabbing jeers to childish remarks. Momoi was walking behind the two with raised eyebrows as she listened to their banter. Nūdoru paced happily by her side with a cute jaunt to his step. It looked alarming on the fearsome creature.

"Oh like you're one to talk!" Hana groaned at Aomine, "You were just as scared as we were!"

"Bull, you practically pissed yourself when he came out. Jumping all over me like a monkey," Aomine laughed at her resulting flush and dodged her swinging hand. Momoi sweat dropped as she watched Aomine rile the feisty girl up.

" _I didn't_ _jump all over you!_ "

"Satsuki!" Aomine called to her for support, "You saw it right?"

Hana spun on her heel and pointed a finger at Momoi with a dark gaze, "You saw nothing."

"Oi, don't threaten her. It's not her fault you're a coward," Aomine smirked as Hana turned back around and growled at him. Sighing in ill hidden humor, Momoi watched them dance around each other. _Such a weird way to bond…_

"I'm not threatening her and I'm not a coward! If anything, I'm braver then you!" Hana retorted with a vindictive smirk, "I'm the one that calmed Nūdoru down after all!"

Aomine scoffed at her, "You don't get points for stupidity," then he frowned as he heard the dog's name, "And I told you! We aren't calling the damn dog _noodle."_

"He likes it!"

"No he doesn't!"

Glancing down to the dog in question, Momoi raised her voice, "Hey, we're here."

"Oh," Hana blinked at the brightly lit store in front of her. She'd lost track of time as she argued with Aomine, which was _weird._ She'd been enjoying it! She wasn't supposed to enjoy it!

Giggling at Hana's surprised face, Momoi nodded, "Mhmm, ready to go?"

"I sure as hell am," Aomine drawled. Nūdoru had come to stand beside him again and a large tan palm was scratching his ears fondly. Hana watched them out of the corner of her eye in speculation, _I guess he really does like dogs… Learn something new every day._

"What about Nūdoru—" Hana began. Aomine coughed at the name and Hana shot him a glare, _I'm not changing his name. I will fight you for this._ Momoi's pink eyes flickered between the two and she covered her mouth to hide her grin.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Hana finished her question. Behind her, Aomine had started to pace as he waited for the two girls to hurry the hell up. He wanted to get this over and done with then go home to crash. _Danger-prone mad woman, making me tired, walking all over the place,_ he grumbled.

"He'll be fine, Imamura-chan. He probably won't even be here when we get out," Momoi consoled the girl. That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Hana's face collapsed in absolute horror. Momoi tried to appease her and waved a hand, "He might be though!"

"He's a stray, they know how to survive," Aomine droned from his acquired leaning spot against the building, "Just hurry up so we can go home."

Momoi shot her a look that spelled out; _sorry, he's a pain._ Hana would have to agree with that statement. A pain that happened to like dogs, enjoyed arguing with her, and was surprisingly fun to hang around. _Yeah,_ Hana winced, _he's a pain alright._

"Bye, Nūdoru," Hana patted the dog one last time before turning around and walking to the door. Her face fell at the sounds of his whimpering which caused Aomine to raise an amused eyebrow. This in turn made Hana blush and she quickened her pace. _Don't look so condescending, jerk!_

"Finally," Aomine stated as he made his way into the building. The place was empty beside the tired looking teenager at the front counter. Rows upon row of shoes were lined against the wall and Aomine went straight to the basketball shoes with an excited gleam to his eyes. Hana heard Momoi sigh behind her before the pink haired girl was followed her friend.

"Need to remember to write all this down for his profile," Hana mused as she watched the two walk off. Moving toward the sale section, Hana hiked her backpack further up on her shoulders. This had been a busy ass day and for once she could agree with Aomine; she was ready to go home.

Coming to stand in front of the display area, Hana frowned. Green eyes scanned the available shoes and her frown deepened. _None of these are good for running._ She picked up a neon green pair and flipped them over to look for the price, _way too expensive!_

"Finding anything?" And there she goes, screaming again. Hana flailed as the honeyed voice apologized for startling her. Shooting a glance over her shoulder at the person, Hana was surprised to see who it was. The teenager at the counter had ventured over to assumedly help her, but he hadn't been prepared for the pair of shoes to fly at his face. The boy was rubbing the back of his neck as he eyed the shoes on the ground.

As reality sank in, Hana began to apologize frantically, "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

A gentle laugh was her answer as the clerk straightened up and dusted off his chest, "Yeah, I'm good. You've got quite a throw there; are you by chance looking for softball cleats?"

"No," Hana denied as she went to retrieve the wayward shoes, "Running shoes. I wore my pair out and yeah, now I'm here."

"Really?" The guy's blue eyes looked over her legs, before nodding, "I can see it. Well that pair you just tossed at me are probably your best bet."

Twitching at the obvious scrutiny, Hana responded halfheartedly, "They're so expensive. Do you have some that are like, half that price?"

"Hmmm," the guy titled his head before looking at the shelving behind her, "Don't think we do. But tell you what, how about I give you a discount?"

 _He's lying_ , Hana noted when the boy scratched his nose. Side-eying him, she questioned, "Why?"

"You know, good faith and everything," the brunette leaned an arm against the wall and smiled at her, "Besides no one's here. If you give me your number, I'll give you a fifty percent discount."

 _Ohhh,_ Hana realized, _so that's what this is. I can work with this._ Bringing a hand up to cover her mouth demurely, Hana looked away from him, "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to get you in trouble…"

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the guys smile grow and he leaned in for the supposed kill, "Positive. I couldn't leave a pretty girl in need."

 _Blechk, this kills my dignity._ Hana forced herself to blush when she looked back to him, "Well, I'd love to accept… you're so generous. It's just that my friend is here with her brother and well, I wouldn't want them to suspect anything…"

"Hey, no it's okay," Mr. Brunette grinned, "I'll just give them the same discount at check-out."

"Really!" Hana blinked up at him and gave a full toothed smile, "You'd do that?"

"Yeah, I've got you," Hana twitched at that, "Just don't forget your part of the bargain, doll."

"Thank you, thank you!" she placed a hand on his arm and tried to project happiness. It was hard to do with his ever-growing grin. _Almost done…_

Urging her hand to stay still,she watched him pull out a fancy cell phone before she recited Kitano's cell phone number to him. Offering another charming smile and bringing her hands behind her back cutely, Hana spoke, "Well, I'm going to go find my friend now! See you soon!"

"Yeah," the guy offered her a quick wave and another once over, "I'll text you later."

 _Time to go, time to go, time to go,_ Hana chanted to herself as she speed-walked toward Aomine and Momoi. As she got closer, it looked like Aomine was having the same issue as her. He had a nice pair of white shoes in his hand but his face was shadowed in disappointment as he complained to an idle Momoi. Because of his complaining, Aomine didn't notice Hana until she was right beside them.

"You should buy them," Hana offered a sneaky grin as she walked up. Momoi jumped away from her and Aomine twitched, both startled.

"Do you want me to go broke?" Aomine grunted and set the shoes back down roughly. His eyes stayed on them for a moment, before looking away unhappily.

"What if they were fifty percent off?" Hana smirked at his interested look. Aomine quickly schooled his face out and raised an eyebrow at her. A few moments later, Momoi was the one to reply.

"Is there a sale?" Momoi pondered and looked toward the store front where the signs were located.

"Nope, but I made a friend," Hana explained, "And he said that he'd give me, my friend, and her brother a store wide discount for the night."

"…I'm not sure I like the sound of that, Imamura-chan."

"I do," Aomine offered from the background and picked up the shoes he'd set down, "If he was stupid enough to fall for her tricks, he deserves it."

Hana narrowed her eyes as her forehead furrowed, "I feel like there was an insult shoved somewhere in there."

Aomine shrugged at her, but Hana could see a tiny smirk tug at the edge of his lip as he walked toward the check out. Beside her, Momoi sighed in bemusement before speaking, "You two are a lot of work."

"Do not compare me to him or I will revolt."

"If you say sooo," Momoi teased and gently nudged her shoulder before following Aomine. Hana watched Momoi's back then stuck her tongue out in petty revenge. _I'm nothing like him. She's mentally deluded._

Their little group made it to the check out quickly and the brunette from before was there to see them off. He smiled charmingly at Momoi and Aomine, then turned it onto Hana as she put her shoes on the table. His voice came out silkily and Hana was surprised by how much she hated it, "You know I realized I never got your name, doll."

 _Oh god,_ Hana winced when she caught Momoi's and Aomine's stunned faces. Realizing what was happening, Momoi turned away to contain her giggles; pink head bopping up and down as she tried to swallow them. Meanwhile, Aomine continued to stand there, mouth gaping like a goldfish. Waving a subtle hand at him, Hana silently ordered him to turn around. He didn't obey.

Taking a deep breath to help ignore her audience, Hana lowered her head and peered at him under her eyelashes, "It's Mitsuwa Kameko, but you can call me Kameko."

He scanned her shoes and smiled at her when he put them into a bag. As he handed her the bag, his hand reached out and caressed her wrist, "Shibaski Yoshino. Bye, doll."

Momoi's giggles got louder as the pink haired girl grabbed Aomine's arm and began to drag him out. The tall boy's mouth was still gaping open as he let Momoi tug him along complacently. Hana watched him warily. Her notes, and experiences, had informed her of his impulsiveness so she was awaiting an incoming explosion. As they stepped out the door, it happened.

"What was that!" Aomine asked. His tone was a weird combination of shock, humor, and disbelief.

"That was me never being able to shop here again," Hana answered before giving him a sly smile, "Did you like your discount?"

His mouth gaped open for another second before he continued, "Does that always work?" He questioned before turning to Momoi, "Why don't you do that!"

As Momoi started to answer his questions, Hana began to quietly chuckle. Aomine's eyes were wide and he looked fascinated with this new information as he quizzed Momoi about seduction techniques. The other manager was trying to explain to him, but he kept firing off new questions every time she breathed. After a while, Momoi started to look frustrated and finally bopped Aomine on the forehead and ordered him to calm down.

"I wouldn't mind going shopping if that happened every time," Aomine finally laughed and pointed to Momoi, "You gotta do that, Satsuki!"

"No!" Momoi denied then turned to Hana, "Please tell me you didn't give him your real number. He was creepy!"

"No, no," Hana's laughter got louder, "I gave him Kitano's. Payback for ruining my shirt and everything."

"Imamura-chan!"

The next thing she knew, Hana felt a heavy feeling behind her and she slowly tilted her head backward only to be greeted by Aomine's lanky form hovering over her. Because of old reflexes, Hana stopped breathing and watched the boy warily. His face was still twitching with the remnants of a smile and humored navy eyes stared down at her, "How often do you do that?"

"Er, whenever someone flirts with me?" she blushed at how terrible that sounded, "Hell, man I don't know!"

A heavy hand landed on her shoulder and Hana froze, eyeing the tan hand that encompassed her left side completely. As she blinked at it, it tightened into a squeeze and let go. Still gaping at her now cold shoulder, Aomine's voice spoke out again, "You're coming with me next time I go shopping."

 _What?_ A silent pause, before she recovered and snapped at him, "Don't order me around!"

His humored drawl responded from behind her, "If you'd shut up, you wouldn't be so bad."

"Momoi-san! Get him!"

Momoi snickered into her palm and shook her head, "Sorry Imamura-chan, I can't tell Aomine-kun what to do."

As Hana silently fumed, Aomine dug a finger into his ear and started walking away, "Seriously, your voice is so loud. Tone it down a bit."

Hana gaped at him before turning to Momoi for help. The other manager just shrugged dainty shoulders and giggled, causing Hana to scowl at her. Folding her arms over her chest, Hana glared at the two people in front of her.

 _Double the damn trouble._

* * *

"Bye, Imamura-chan! See you tomorrow!"

"Try not to do anything stupid," Aomine had added while Momoi gave Hana a tight hug goodbye.

She had been too distracted by the large chest she was being smushed into to give him a retort at the time; but, she could still remember his snort as he laughed at her. Hana frowned at the thought, _jerk faced potato head._

Now, Hana was on her way home. Her mind was cloudy with the events of the day, and _by god_ , it been one crazy day. First, Midorima and Kise. Then math with Kuroko and running into Momoi. Lastly, the surprise appearance by Aomine! That was more than half of the team right there!

"What the hell am I getting myself into," she spoke her thoughts out loud. It was so _weird._ Like, alien invasion type of weird. Less than a month ago, she hated these people. Okay, hate might be too strong of a word. Maybe extreme distrust and an overwhelming disgust for their playing style with a side of envy? Yeah, that worked.

She kicked a pebble down the sidewalk and watched as it bounced into the road, "This is probably some type of life lesson. Don't judge people? Love thy enemy?"

Because, these people were _nice._ Nice-ish. Okay, they weren't that bad. But the point is, they weren't the blood thirsty sharks she'd spent a year and a half believing they were. Akashi and Murasakibara remained to be determined, but so far the odds were in their favor. Five out of seven was a good indicator of future encounters. _At least, I damn well hope so._

She could see her tiny house now which made Hana release a thankful sigh. Her feet hurt like hell and she'd murder someone for some tea. Hopefully her dad was home, but if not she'd need to get started on dinner too. Making her way to the entry way, Hana sighed at the lack of her father's car, "Must be paperwork time."

A quick shadow danced across her yard to the front steps. Spying it out of the corner of her eye, Hana jumped a foot into the air with a screech, _Oh my god, what is it!?_ In fear, she crouched down on the ground and eyed the black mass sitting in front of her front door. Several long, fear filled seconds passed. Then, " _Woof_."

"You've got to be kidding me."

There sitting on her front steps was Nūdoru, the dog from the alley way, with the Hello Kitty pin perched neatly between his teeth. His body mass took up the whole entry way and his wagging tail slapped against the door in excitement. Hana groaned as she stood back up and Nūdoru offered another happy _woof_ before bounding over to her.

"What are you doing here?" She murmured as she petted his large head, "Why did you follow _me?"_

He headbutted her and she heard something drop to the floor. Looking at her feet, she saw the Hello Kitty pin laying innocently between them. Nūdoru gave a happy whine before rolling onto his back in front of her. Hana deadpanned, "You wanted to give me my pin back?"

A _woof._

"You damn dog," Hana drug a hand down her face, "You can't stay here."

Nūdoru whined, gazing at her with unseeing eyes and a sad face. Hana twitched. He rolled over and wiggled his butt back and forth in time with his growing cries. Hana had to look away, causing a louder whimper in response. Facing falling in regret, Hana turned back to the huge animal.

"Fine! But you've got to be quiet!" Hana relented in defeat, "… Dad is going to murder me."

Nūdoru bounced to his feet and licked her hand, then followed her to the door. Girl and dog stood together before the entryway. Taking a deep breath, Hana opened the door for him and he rushed by.

The resulting crashes she heard were enough to make her pale, "Nūdoru!"

 _The next morning…._

"IMAMURA HANA!" Her father's voice bellowed from downstairs, "WHAT IS THIS!"

" _Woof! Woof! Woof!"_

"Get off the couch! Hana!" Her father's yell transferred into a high pitch scream, "Ah! Don't jump on me!"

Her father and Nūdoru began to bark and scream in tandem. Next thing she heard was a big bang from the kitchen and deadly silence. A soft _woof_ was echoed by a frustrated roar, "HANA!"

Heavy hands slapped themselves over tired green eyes and Hana groaned, "Shit."

* * *

 **End notes!**

 **I used google translate to translate noodle into Japanese, sooo it might be wrong. I apologize if it is!**

 _ **Dear reviewers:**_

 _ **Arah : Thank you so much for the compliment! I'm glad you enjoy it!**_

 _ **Lostnights : Awhhh! Thank you, you're so sweet! **_

_**JeyaMendoz a: Thank you for your comments on all those chapters! Your feedback was great and I'm glad you like Hana's personality. I can safely assure you there will be plenty of Kise, Kuroko, and Akashi in future chapters!**_

 _ **TheMusicalReader : I can't wait for the romance to bloom, either! It's going to be fun writing relationship growth and I hope my plans for the characters live up to your expectations!**_

 _ **Red raspberries : You've been commenting for awhile and I'm glad you're still here; thank you for all your great support! Also, I'm glad you enjoyed Momoi and Hana's relationship since it was so much fun to write. There will for sure be more of the two in later chapters.**_


	12. Chapter 12

**It's Saturday night and I'm at home, woo hoo! Anyway, you guys. This was hard. Akashi did not want to transfer from my imagination onto the keyboard and I'm a bit embarrassed to post this. I hope I did his character justice and that you guys all enjoy this new chapter. As a final note, thank you all for those awesome reviews last chapter! My grin could not stop; it was great. Without further ado, Chapter 12! (final, final note: if I really screwed up on something please tell me so I can fix it)**

 **Warnings: Bad language and poor editing**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke and any canonical events.**

* * *

Dealings of Devils  


The smell of coffee is supposed to help you wake up. Hana read it in an article once; something about stirring the brain cells. The large cup in front of her, was unfortunately, doing just that. The inky goodness nestled in the mug was calling her to take a sip of it, but Hana remained firm. She would not admit defeat.

In the seat parallel to hers, her father was doing the same. He had his own cup of the delicious liquid but was watching her with a blank face. She liked to refer to it as the " _oh shit, you've messed up"_ face. His nose twitched and heavy eyebrows furrowed over suspiciously calm eyes. Finally, a weathered hand reached out to take the cup.

"So," he took a slow sip, "Want to explain to me why there's a dog laying on my couch?"

Hana did not in fact want to explain. She felt like the explanation was clear enough since the dog was well, here. What else could she say? All the evidence pointed at her; including the now broken table wear on the floor. Her hand twitched to take the cup of coffee in the stifling silence, but she held firm.

"He's cute?" Hana offered, "You know I like dogs."

Her father's eyebrows quirked up in an unimpressed fashion, "Most kids ask permission before they bring an unknown animal into their _parent's_ house."

Okay, so joking around wouldn't work this time. Time to get serious and pull out the guilt card, "Remember Chibi? I loved him and Momma took him with her. I wanted another friend."

"Chibi was a five pound Chihuahua. That," he motioned toward Nūdoru, "Is at least a hundred pounds of dog."

"A hundred pounds of love," Hana countered.

"Hana."

"Okay, okay. Think about it from a different perspective. We have a guard dog now!"

"He can't even see," her father deadpanned. Nūdoru's head had popped up from behind the couch and he watched the interaction with a slobbery grin. Hana winced as a large drop of drool landed on the upholstery. Across from her, her father twitched and downed another gulp of coffee.

"Exactly! It's our civic duty to take care of those in need; I think he matches the description well," Hana tried to smile, but she couldn't fool her dad.

His hand came up to pinch his nose, "Can you take anything seriously?"

"Yes," she countered with a sheepish frown, "I really do miss Chibi and Nūdoru is a sweet dog underneath all that mess."

"Nūdoru? I've failed you. What a terrible name," he snorted before his face straightened back out, "You aren't going to take no for an answer, are you?"

"If it's a firm no, I might consider it. But right now, no," Hana admitted. Honesty was the best policy with her father. Besides, she didn't like to lie to him; it made her feel all squirmy inside.

"Hana," her father groaned and laid a hand across his forehead, "You do realize you're in trouble right now?"

Wincing at his tone, Hana nodded. Her voice came out softly, "Yeah, but I'll accept any punishment you give me if I can keep him."

"Any punishment?" _What's with that tone?_

"Maybe…" Hana frowned at him, "What are you thinking?"

"I've lost one of my kitchen staff last week; so, the kitchens been a bit understaffed," her father hedged with a smirk, "We need a good janitor to help clean up the mess."

Hana blanched, "Cleaning?"

"Cleaning," her father nodded decidedly, "If you give me your word you'll come to the shop and clean it every other day, I'll let you keep him."

"But…." A glance at the slobbery dog, "Gah, fine."

Letting out a contented hum, her father finished up his coffee, "You've got to feed him and bathe him too. Shouldn't have a problem walking him but you're going to have to get used to cleaning up after him. I doubt he's house trained," he looked to Nūdoru contemplatively, "And I bet a huge dog like that comes with a lot of poop."

 _Woof!_

Hana's face planted itself on the table and she let out a long whine. Her father let out a bellowing laugh, "You should probably go give him a bath before you leave for class. If I have to put up with him, he better be clean."

"Daaaaaaad," Hana groaned into the wood. Her hand sneaked out to grab the lukewarm coffee and she let out a sigh as the warmth seeped into her palm.

"Go on, get too it," he ordered as he stood up to put his cup in the sink. She groaned into the table once again for good measure.

"Blah," Hana reluctantly got out of her chair and stood, looking to Nūdoru for help. He offered her a happy whine before jumping _right over the freaking couch_ , "Don't do that!"

Her dad snorted in the background, "Have fun."

Glaring at her father, Hana pointed a finger at Nūdoru, "Come on, boy. We need to go upstairs."

The dog practically bounced its way toward where he assumed the staircase was. Too bad he'd gone the opposite direction. Hana sighed, "Wrong way."

His big body spun around at the sound of her voice and he came to her side, plopping on his butt in confusion. Hana reached a hand out to rest on his body and pushed him toward the staircase. As soon as his large paws touched the first stair, he flung himself up the rest of them. This action resulted in a symphony of loud thuds and scratching noises.

"No! Calm down, Nūdoru!"

* * *

A content doggy smile sat on his Nūdoru's face. Hana had shoved him into the bath tub and loaded it up with plenty amounts of bubble bath. Now, the happy dog was situated in a humongous pile of bubbles that covered him from head to toe. The surrounding water was a disgusting brown color, but the dog didn't seem to care.

"I need to get you a collar," Hana mused as she rubbed the soap into his back, "What size are you anyway? Extra, extra-large?"

Her new pet offered a woof which Hana took as a yes. So, she'd need a collar, leash, food, and dog shampoo. What else? He'd probably have to go to the vet. Which meant _money._ And where was he going to sleep?This was turning out to be a lot like having a kid. A giant, four-legged beast of a kid.

"You know, I mentioned wanting a body guard. Maybe the fates heard my plea," she grimaced at the mud on her hands, "You better hope this is dirt, pup."

Nūdoru tilted his head at her voice and Hana giggled at the pile of bubbles that fell into his face. He gave a put-out huff before his body tensed. Hana had a feeling she knew where this was going. She opened her mouth in a shout, "Don't-"

He shook his massive body; sending a barrage of soap bubbles, mud, and other various things around the room. Of course, Hana was also included in his assault. Closing her eyes and slowly rubbing the mess of her face, Hana sighed, "Do that."

Nūdoru woofed in happiness at his now suds free body, but a glance around her tiny bathroom had Hana groaning in defeat. There wasn't a single speck left clean.

 _It's too early for this._

* * *

She had her uniform on. She had her container of coffee ready. She'd done all her homework. She even made herself a cute looking bento for lunch. The only problem with this picture was the beast at her feet. Nūdoru seemed to be under the impression that he was going to school too. Which was a bad idea all around.

"Awh, you two are so cute," Her father cooed, "Don't move, I need to get a picture of this. Your mom's going to love it."

Hana shot her father a glare, but remained still. Below her, Nūdoru woofed at her father and wagged his tail in happiness. She'd tied a ribbon around his neck as a make shift collar and the pup seemed to love it. Figures.

A flash and a clicking sound distracted her from her survey. Her dad had snuck back into the room and had taken a surprise picture. The large camera covered half his face, but Hana could still see the large grin that stretched his cheeks. Another flash later and he chuckled, "This is just too adorable."

"Dad," Hana deadpanned, "School?"

"Oh fine," he clicked the camera again, "I'm done. What time are you going to be home tonight?"

"Er, I don't know? I need to go buy him some stuff, so it might be late again."

As he looked at the photos he took, her father tutted, "Be careful. Now go; you'll be late."

Rolling her eyes in exasperation, _he's the reason I'm running late_ , Hana gave her father a good bye and headed out the door. Nūdoru trotted along beside her. As she opened the door and stepped outside, Hana knelt on the ground to tie her shoelaces tighter. She was going to have to hurry to get there on time.

"I should get you a saddle," Hana joked to Nūdoru. She could see it now; _the masses of people moving out of her way as she rode in on her demon steed. People cowering in fear of her awesome power_. A timely headbutt knocked her out of her fantasies and she pouted down at her new pet. Hana huffed, "No fun."

The walk was quick. Which was mostly Nūdoru's fault. He'd get excited at all the noises and smells around them before darting off and Hana would have to race after him. Thankfully, he tended to stay on the correct pathway and Hana only had to turn him around once. For a blind dog, he could navigate unnaturally well. She attributed it to his pervious status as a stray.

They were now standing in front of the gate way and Hana realized how much of problem this was going to be. She could not bring Nūdoru into school. Hell, she probably shouldn't have even brought him to the front gates. Teiko was all about their reputation after all.

"So," she trailed off and looked at Nūdoru, "You think you can handle being by yourself for a few hours?"

He gave her a miserable look and whined at the thought. Hana felt her guilt creep up and apologized, "I'm sorry, pup. I didn't think this through. But I know you can handle it; you've been through worse, right? Besides, I'll come get you before practice and sneak you in or something."

His face perked up at that and Hana snorted at the human like expression, "I'll even save you some of my lunch. Do we have a deal?"

 _Woof._ Hana smiled at his bark and patted his head, "I'm glad we could work this out. I think we're going to have a beautiful relationship. Now I'll see you soon, okay?"

Nūdoru head butted her before making his way over to the nearest tree and plopping down on his stomach. Sleepy eyes were directed at her and he let out a yawn before they slipped closed. Grinning at his antics, Hana let out a startled laugh, "That works, I guess."

Shooting Nūdoru one last look, Hana turned back to the overwhelming building in front of her and made her way to the entrance. There was a suspicious lack of students outside and Hana's thoughts turned worried, _hopefully I'm not late._

She was very late. Thirty minutes to be precise.

 _Oppsies._

* * *

The strangest thing happened at lunch. On a scale of one to ten, this ranked a defiant nine. Hana's green eyes narrowed on the five people who had magically sat themselves at her outdoor space. _Where's Uoya when I need him?_ Meanwhile, Kuroko was the only one to notice her gaze and shot her a questioning look. Hana frowned at him in thought.

"Yes?" Kuroko questioned as he bit into his food. His other teammates continued to chatter amongst themselves, oblivious to Hana's look.

"Why are you here?" Hana spoke, jumping right to the point.

"Friends eat lunch together, do they not?" Kuroko questioned in turn. His blue eyes blinked at her, "You don't mind, do you?"

"I'm finding that yes, I kind of do," Hana admitted unashamedly. She saw Kuroko's mouth tick upwards and continued, "I'm mostly concerned how you're all in the same place without the remainders."

Kuroko raised delicate eyebrows, "The remainders?"

"You know, the other two," Hana explained with a waved chopstick. Kuroko eyed the sharp implement warily and Hana suspected Kise had informed him about her past threat.

"Be sure you don't refer to either Akashi-kun or Murasakibara-kun as _remainders,"_ Kuroko advised. Hana could see his point; that wouldn't end well for either party. Akashi would demand divine retribution and Murasakibara would eat her alive.

"Got it," she nodded before pointing her chopstick at Kuroko's forehead, "But why are you here?"

"Kise-kun," Kuroko explained as if that answered everything. Which it kind of did.

"Of course. But why would Kise want to see me?"

"Shouldn't that be a question you ask him, Imamura-chan?"

"Yes, but I don't want too because then he'll start talking and never shut up," Hana admitted.

Kuroko offered another twitch of the lips, but it was the snort in the background that informed her of other listeners. Hana glanced to the right of Kuroko and nodded at Midorima in acknowledgment. That had been the first noise he'd made since arriving!

The prickly boy offered her a nod in return, "Good afternoon, Imamura-san."

"Hey there, Midorima-san. How'd Kise force you into this?" Hana questioned. _Probably stole his lucky item or something_.

"Midorima-kun came out of his own will," Kuroko answered for him. Beside him, the green haired boy erupted into a volcanic blush; the heat from his cheeks even steamed his glasses up. Midorima turned to Kuroko stiffly.

"Kuroko," Midorima growled. Meanwhile, the blue headed boy remained unconcerned and continued to eat his lunch. A taped hand came up to pinch his nose and Midorima sighed, "I was curious to see if your luck improved."

 _Well, that makes sense,_ Hana figured. Thinking back on the events of yesterday, she paused before speaking, "Yeah it was alright. I got a dog."

Honestly, out of all the things she's said, she didn't think this little grouping of people would react so strongly to _one_ statement. Midorima looked mildly disgusted, Kuroko looked intrigued, Kise looked excited, but Aomine and Momoi both adopted exasperated expressions. Now all the attention was on her and Hana felt like the star of the show. She hated it.

Momoi spoke first, "You got a dog?"

"Yeah," Hana nodded and poked at her food to avoid making eye contact, "He kind of showed up at my house; couldn't turn him away."

This time Aomine spoke next. His voice was a low grumble and Hana tried to prepare for resulting argument, "What's his name?"

"…Nūdoru."

"You didn't," Aomine groaned as he stared at her. His eyes drifted up to the sky and he sighed, "You did, dammit."

"The dog from yesterday?" Momoi questioned. Her pink eyes were wide in surprise, but Hana saw the smirk tugging at her lips and pouted.

"Yes, the dog from yesterday," Hana admitted bashfully, "Look, he followed me home! You should have seen him! He gave me back the pin and everything, I couldn't just leave him."

Kise and Kuroko watched the exchange with curious eyes. Beside them, Midorima frowned. Imamura mentioned a pin. Had she given the pin he'd gifted her to a _dog?_ His eyes narrowed behind his glasses, "Are you referring to your lucky item from yesterday?"

"Oh, shit," Hana coughed into her palm. She should have realized Midorima would remember that. With a guilty shrug, Hana tried to explain, "I didn't want to give it to him! But this little girl stole it and it smelled like candy and he wanted it. At least he didn't bite me!"

A simultaneous blank look spread across the faces of Kuroko, Kise, and Midorima. Aomine took it upon himself to explain, "This idiot," he motioned to Hana, "Decided to pet a pissed off dog. She's lucky she didn't die."

"Nudoru wouldn't have hurt me," Hana frowned at Aomine, contritely. His eyes turned into silts when he heard the name.

"Tell me you didn't call him that," Aomine demanded. At his left, Momoi giggled. _Of course she did, Aomine-kun._

"He likes it," Hana stated and when Aomine opened his mouth again, she continued, "Don't start! We are not having the conversation again! Your name was even worse!"

"You called him noodle! Where'd that even come from?!" It seemed he wasn't going to drop it that easily.

Hana hastened to explain, "Momoi-san and I were eating ramen, before you oh so rudely, interrupted us. Hence the noodle."

"That's terrible! God, you—" Aomine started but Kise cut him off with a whine.

"Awhh, you hung out with Aomine-cchi and Momoi-cchi and didn't invite me?" Kise pouted at her as he laid his cheek on his palm. Despite his pout, his eyes were smiling in amusement.

"I don't plan this!" Hana defended. Kuroko and Midorima were silent during the exchange; Kuroko in contemplation but Midorima was still irked over Hana's mistreatment of her lucky item. Meanwhile, Hana was experiencing the overwhelming feeling of being surrounded.

Catching onto Hana's change, Kuroko spoke, "So you have a dog now?"

"Yeah," Hana silently praised Kuroko's insightfulness, "My dad let me keep him. In fact, he's outside right now."

Five pairs of eyes blinked at her. Coughing into his hand, Midorima spoke, "You brought it to school?"

"No," Hana paused, "Okay not technically. He's outside the gates."

"You've got to be kidding me," Aomine droned as he stared at her.

"Don't act so superior!" Hana snapped at him, "I can bring my dog wherever I want."

"… You really can't," Kise offered unhelpfully from the side.

"You hush," Hana pointed at him. Kise offered her a sly smirk, but did in fact shut his mouth.

Momoi broke the silence, "So your dad didn't mind?"

"Oh he did," Hana admitted, "But we figured it out."

"I'd like to meet him," Kuroko offered. Like Aomine, he loved dogs. It also seemed to be a good way to bond with Imamura-chan, who in turn shot him a grateful smile. _Kuroko is my favorite; always knows the right things to say._

"If I see you after school you can meet him," Hana responded.

"Oh!" Kise chimed in, "I want to meet him too!"

"... Of course you do," Hana deadpanned. She hadn't missed Kise's smirk.

Meanwhile, Midorima was still frowning. He questioned Hana, "What'd you do with the pin?"

You know when you're talking to a bunch of people at once, you kind of lose track of yourself? That's what Hana had been feeling for the entirety of this exchange. So, without thinking properly, Hana responded, "I framed it."

The silence that echoed around the small table was deafening. Kise and Aomine looked horrified. Momoi's sneaky grin had stretched across her face. Kuroko had a very mild expression of shock and the final person, Midorima, had shifted his mouth into in a smug fashion. None of his teammates took his horoscopes seriously; it felt overpoweringly nice to have someone put so much into something he'd gave them. _Especially an Oha-Asa approved item_.

A blush made its way up to her ears and Hana tried to clarify, "I… just uhm, it was pretty?"

As everyone stared at her, it was the dinging of the bell that saved her. Gathering her stuff and shoving ridiculous amount of food down her throat, Hana thanked which ever god listened to her. Offering an obnoxiously sunny smile to everyone present, Hana darted from her seat as fast as she could. _Pride be damned!_

As Hana vanished, Momoi sighed at the breeze of wind that passed before frowning at Hana's vacant seat with a sense of déjà vu.

"What's that?" Pink eyes locked onto a black cell phone sitting on the lunch table, "Is that one of your phones?"

"No," Kuroko answered, "I believe that's Imamura-chan's."

"Oh, really?" Kise drawled and slunk over to the abandoned phone. His hand was about to grab it when Aomine snatched it away. The navy haired boy offered him a scowl.

"What the hell are you planning?" Aomine demanded at the blonde. Another hand quickly snatched it out of his own. Everyone's eyes turn to Midorima who was examining it thoughtfully.

The shooter quirked a brow at his audience, "None of you fools need this. Someone trust worthy should hold onto it."

"And that's you?" Aomine questioned. During the commotion, Momoi had vacated her seat and moved toward Kuroko. The ghost player offered her a nod before subtly stealing Hana's phone out of Midorima's hand without notice. Momoi giggled, _good job, Tetsu-kun!_

"Of course it's me," Midorima countered, "Who would trust you buffoons with something important?"

"I just wanted to put my number in there Midorima-cchi!" Kise pouted at his friend, "Please?"

"No!" Midorima pushed his glasses up, "I'll return it to her after class."

"Like hell you will," Aomine drawled, "Just give it back to me. I'll do it."

Meanwhile, Kuroko nudged Momoi and sharing a silent communication, they both left the table. Kuroko pocketed Hana's phone as he left. Momoi grabbed onto Kuroko's arm and practically skipped out of the cafeteria. _Testu-kun's sneaky side is so much fun_.

In the courtyard, the three other basketball players remained unknowingly at the table. They were still engaged in a debate over the proper person to hold the phone. Even if said phone was now missing.

"Midorima-cchi! I won't do anything bad!"

"You've got a crush on her don't you, Midorima?"

"Shut up! The both of you!"

* * *

The fact she hadn't noticed the missing presence of her cell phone had to say something about Hana's social life. She had gone through the rest of the school day without a clue and by the time she arrived to mathematics, she'd still hadn't noticed. Good thing the fates had gifted her Kuroko.

For once, Hana was the first one to class. Green eyes flicked around the empty classroom in surprise. She kept expecting to see Kuroko appear at her side, but no such luck. One by one, her classmates began to trickle into the room. Hana watched them all with a bored look. She knew their names, of course, but she didn't care for them. Since most of her time was spent in the gymnasium, Hana had never developed a social streak.

Kuramoto-sensei was the last to arrive. He bustled into the room with flushed cheeks and Hana recalled the rumor about his affair with the art teacher. She had thought it was a stupid rumor, but maybe it had some truth to it. As the teacher hurried to his chair, Hana looked to her side again. Still no Kuroko.

"Okay, I'll be taking roll and then we will spend today introducing the next chapter," Kuramoto-sensei began, "Adachi Izo?"

"Present."

"Araki Manami?"

The following students answer was interrupted by Hana's scream. One second, Kuroko wasn't there. The next second, _there the little shit was._ Everyone else in the classroom jumped, including the now present Kuroko. His wide eyes stared at Hana in wonder; he'd never met someone who reacted so loudly to his appearance without fail.

Kuramoto-sensei coughed to cover his squeal and gave Hana a grimace, "Everything okay, Imamura-san?"

With her heart beating out of her chest, Hana fabricated an answer, "Spider."

"Of course there was," her teacher sighed, "Okay, now that we all know Imamura-san's here. Let's continue."

As the teacher continued down the roll sheet, Kuroko twisted his body toward hers. His eyes had reduced back to their normal size, but he still had his eyebrows lifted incredulously. With a tinge of amusement, he spoke, "I apologize for startling you. I would have thought you'd grown used to my appearances by now."

"Nope," Hana mumbled, "I'm going to get you a bell though. This is getting ridiculous."

"I'd have to agree," Kuroko spoke. His hand went into his pocket and fiddled with the phone thoughtfully, "Your reactions are amusing though."

"More like humiliating," Hana faced him with a pout. In a rare act of deviousness, Kuroko wanted to laugh at how put-out she appeared.

Retrieving her phone, Kuroko handed it to her, "You left this at the table today."

Hana blinked at the innocent looking phone. She blinked again. Then, her face paled, "Please tell me you didn't let anyone look through it."

"No," Kuroko confirmed, "Though Momoi-san had it for a bit. She told me she was putting her number into your contacts, but I didn't observe."

 _Oh shit,_ Hana didn't want to think about the possibilities. Momoi-san was the data gatherer, after all. Her phone didn't have much information to be used against her, but there was one thing. On her home screen, she'd book marked several _somewhat risqué_ romance novels to be read later. _If Momoi saw those, I'd never hear the end of her teasing._

"No need to look so worried, Imamura-chan," Kuroko spoke at her silence. Eyeing the phone thoughtfully, he continued, "I made sure she didn't share your number with anyone."

"Thank you," Hana breathed out in relief. Beside her, Kuroko was radiating unspoken laughter and it made Hana pause. She flitted wary green eyes over to him, "You didn't go through it, right?"

"I may have accidently ventured into your private information," Kuroko admitted without shame, "I enjoyed the story of the princess and the assassin. It was very well written."

You hear that ripping sound? That was the sound of Hana's last shreds of dignity. As they floated away from her body, Hana was in a state of shock. Her limbs had turned to stone and she stared at Kuroko, horrified. _It's always the innocent ones…_

Unbeknownst to Hana's situation, Kuroko continued, "Although, the plot was quite lacking. The build up to the relationship did not match the time until the characters became intimate- Imamura-chan?"

Laying in a heap of defeat on her desk, was Hana. Green eyes were closed in shame and her blush was spreading all the way to her toes. Kuroko poked at her head with a pencil, causing a depressed whine to escape. He poked at her head again, but Hana couldn't find it in herself to care. _This team is going to kill me. I'll never be able to face the light of day again._

* * *

For the rest of the week, the five miracles would occasionally sit with her at lunch. It had grown to be normal, yet Hana still wondered what Akashi and Murasakibara thought about all this. Another strange thing she noticed was that the miracles would only appear if Uoya was sitting elsewhere. She couldn't grasp the reason for this. Kuroko and Kise had seemed to get on well enough with him. Maybe they just wanted to keep the two teams separate? _But that doesn't explain why they talk to me._

Hana was still trying to find an explanation as she worked on her notebook. Uoya laid across from her on her fluffy blue comforter while Nūdoru was sprawled out on top of the sixth year. If Hana were to be honest, it was kind of cute. Circling a foreign players name, Hana looked up at her younger friend.

"Hypothetically speaking," Hana began, "What are the classifications of a stalker?"

"…They aren't stalking you," Uoya deadpanned as he scratched Nūdoru's ear.

The two had a shaky start at the beginning. Uoya had screamed, which had made Nūdoru go crazy, which had made Uoya run and it all had ended when Nūdoru had tackled him to the ground and licked him head to two. Now, Nūdoru seemed to have claimed the sixth year as his personal servant.

"Okay, they might not be stalking me individually. But maybe Akashi ordered them too? Like a mafia group; they go undercover as my friends and wring out all my secrets."

"If Akashi-san cared that much about your supposed secrets he'd find you himself."

"Uoya! Don't say that! You're going to jinx me!"

Uoya laughed at her panic, "Hana-chan, calm down. You've been riled up all day."

"You would be too," She countered and slammed her notebook shut, "I just want to know what they're thinking."

"Maybe they just want to be your friend? Ever think about that?"

"Yes, that was my first option but it's too easy of an answer," Hana replied.

She considered them all somewhat friends, but she wasn't sure they shared the sentiment. Kuroko and Momoi maybe, but the other three she couldn't understand. They were strong people. They hung out with strong people. Hana was not a strong person. _Simple mathematics_.

"Sometimes the simple answer is the truest one," Uoya mused. Nūdoru whined in agreement.

"Okay, Yoda," Hana grumped, "Thank you for your sagely advice. Why aren't you getting dressed?"

"...I told you I'm not wearing a dress."

"But you're going to the game with me. Which means they can recognize you," Hana tried to instill her point, "Which will mean that they recognize _me._ "

"I can just stay here?" Uoya offered, "I'll walk Nūdoru."

 _Oh, no you don't_ , Hana narrowed her eyes on Uoya. She forced her voice into a threatening pitch, "Do not make me drag you."

"But, Hanaaa-chan, I don't want to go."

 _So, threats aren't working today,_ she mused. _Cue the weepy eyes_ , "Please, Uoya-kun?"

Hana watched Uoya's body tense up and smirked. He had always been a sucker for tears. Unfortunately, it seemed his resolve to not go to the game outweighed his weakness, "Hana-chan, I really don't want to go. The game's already been determined."

"Hey now, you never know! Maybe some team will come in and kick their asses," Hana tried to persuade him.

Uoya raised an incredulous eyebrow, "What is with you? You sound excited?"

Huffing, Hana turned back to her friend. Her tone was indignant, "I am! Okay look at it this way," she flapped her right hand, "Before all my notes where based on speculation. But now I have a true idea of most of their personalities, and if I combine that with how they play, I can record their statistics accurately."

"Has anyone told you your kind of scary?" Uoya questioned after she finished talking, "Besides, aren't you friends with them? Why would you do that?"

"I can be friends and rivals with someone at the same time," Hana explained before continuing, "And yes, you call me terrifying several times a day."

"Rivalry doesn't equate with friendship," Uoya droned before grimacing at the large drool stain on his pants, "You need to get him a bib."

Stretching her hands over her head, Hana snapped back at him as she went to the bathroom, "You do it. You're watching him tonight."

"Wait! Does that mean you aren't making me go?"

"You owe me," and with that Hana slammed the bathroom door shut behind her. Uoya looked to Nūdoru and the two shared excited grins. Grabbing his large paw, Uoya held it up for a high five.

"We're home free, buddy!" Uoya crowed. Hearing his excitement, Nūdoru tackled him onto the bed and attacked his face with his tongue. Uoya squealed in disgust and tried to get away, but he was no match for the large dog. He was beginning to regret his decision, "Hana-chan!"

"Too late!" Hana replied as she turned the shower on.

Uoya let out a regretful moan and tried to push the large dog off him, but Nūdoru wouldn't budge. Giving him an annoyed glare, Uoya gave up before pulling out his phone and muttering to himself, "This sucks."

Time passed slowly. Well, slowly for Uoya. Hana hadn't got out of the shower and he was still being smothered by the giant dog. On the other end of the spectrum, time was passing far too quickly for Hana. Her shower felt so good on her sore muscles that she couldn't convince herself to get out. Hearing the water still running, Uoya raised an eyebrow. He glanced toward the clock on his phone before blanching, _doesn't the game start at seven?_

"Hey," he yelled to Hana and hoped she could hear him over the water, "When does the game start?"

"Seven!" her voice replied.

"It's six forty-five!" The water shut off right away and Uoya winced at the stream of cursing flying out of his friend's mouth. The door slammed open and Hana emerged in a towel with the angriest face he'd ever had the horror of seeing.

"Why didn't you get me earlier!" Hana threw her hairbrush at him before scurrying to her closet, "It's a twenty-minute walk!"

"Sorry!" Uoya, for once, was thankful for the large dog sitting on him as it meant Hana hadn't aimed the brush at his head.

Staring at her closet in dismay, Hana realized she had nothing to wear that would hide her identity. She settled for a pair of pants and a very large sweatshirt. At least she could hide her legs. Closing the door of the closet behind her, Hana dropped the towel and speed changed. Snagging a stray pair of converse off the floor, Hana hopped out of the closet and simultaneously pulled the shoes on.

"You look like a guy," Uoya offered. Which was good, because that was exactly what she was going for. It wasn't that hard with her severe lack of squishy chest tissue but her long hair was going to be a problem. She couldn't wear the hood inside the building without drawing unneeded attention to herself.

"Do you have a beanie?" Hana questioned hurriedly as she rushed back to bathroom to brush her teeth.

"It's May," Uoya deadpanned, "So, no I do not."

"A hat?" Hana yelled back around her mouthful of toothpaste.

Uoya paused to think before a lightbulb went off, "Backpack!"

"Thank you!" Hana darted out of the bathroom and scoped up her bag. Giving Nūdoru a kiss on the top of the head, Hana shouted over her shoulder as she left, "Take good care of him!"

With the house now silent, Uoya blinked up at the dog on top of him. He narrowed his brown eyes, "Off."

Nūdoru didn't move. Uoya groaned.

* * *

By the time she got to Teiko, the game had already started. The outside of the stadium was deserted which Hana was thankful for. Now she could sneak in without anyone noticing. If your anyone other than Hana, you'd probably be wondering why she was putting so much trouble into staying hidden. The simply answer was, well, there wasn't a simple answer.

It boiled down to friendship. Sort of. She didn't think any of the miracles were aware of her going to their games; which if they had noticed her in the past it wouldn't have mattered. But now, Hana knew these people. Like Uoya had mentioned earlier, you don't spy on your friends. Hana equated it to committing a friendship taboo.

Some part of her felt guilty. It was the same part of her that took over every time she saw someone sad. But it needed to be pushed back; she couldn't let her new friendship interfere with her duty to her own teammates. _I'd just rather not get caught doing so._

As she made her way into the stadium, Hana peered down at the players. The second quarter had just started and Teiko was in the lead as expected. She hadn't paid attention to who they were facing, but noted that their jersey was red. Hana pulled Uoya's black cap over her forehead and made her way to the railing. To cut down on her chance of being recognized, Hana had left her binder at home and instead brought a tiny composition book.

Taking said book out, Hana flipped to a clean page. Scanning the proceedings of the court, her eyes landed on a familiar crown of blond hair. Kise was paired off against a shorter boy with a shaved head. Hana couldn't recognize him for certain, but she believed it to be a player name Tsugawa. Surprisingly, Kise was having a hard time keeping up with him. The blond was earning foul after foul.

This pattern continued, much to Kise's annoyance. She heard him shout for a replacement after earning another foul of his opponent. Shortly afterward, Nijimura was subbed in to replace Kise. Hana blinked at the sight of the black headed third year. She hadn't seen Nijimura around much since he'd transferred the captain position over to Akashi. In fact, she'd assumed he'd retired early. _Goes to show how distracted I've been. Damn miracles._

After Nijimura's sub in, the game continued in Teiko's favor.

In the end, Teiko won 64 to 92. Hana wasn't surprised, but the audience was eating their victory up. Her green eyes landed on the cameramen around the court. Those were a new addition. More and more reporters and journalists had taken an interest in the dubbed Generation of Miracles. Hana wondered how the rest of the first string felt with that.

When she came back to her senses, Hana was startled by the sudden clearing of the audience. Everyone was making their way out of the gym except for the home team. Their new coach was watching over them and Akashi was talking to Kise about something Hana couldn't figure out. Maybe the fouls? Whatever it was, Kise seemed to accept it.

Then the inevitable happened. Akashi looked away from Kise and crimson eyes circled the stadium. They trailed over the remaining audience members, including herself. Because she's an idiot, Hana ducked. Any chance of Akashi looking away from her was now ruined and she gulped at the curious tilt of his head. _There's no way he knows it's me,_ Hana tried to console herself, _he's probably just wondering who I am._

She wished she could see his face, but from this height she had no idea what he was thinking. Trying to remain calm, Hana forced herself to stand and walked toward the exit. She merged into the remaining crowd and together they all made their way down the steps. Instead of following the rest of the group to the main exit, Hana speared off from them and walked into the recesses of the hallway.

In horror movies, the villain always catches up to the hero in a dimly lit hallway or room. Unfortunately, Hana wasn't thinking straight; which she'd been doing a lot lately. Pulling her hood over the top of her hat, Hana meandered down the quiet hallway. She knew where she was, thankfully, and there was very little chance of a surprise encounter.

Except Hana had never encountered the persistence of one Akashi Seijuro. While she had made her way down the stairs, a pair of red eyes had watched her intently. Excusing himself from the rest of the team, Akashi followed the girl. One hallway blended into another as he followed her through several turns. The hooded firgure finally stopped and Akashi cleared his throat. The resulting screech confirmed his suspicions.

"Hello," Akashi began in polite cadence, "Would you mind sharing why you're roaming through the halls unaccompanied?"

 _Shit, shit, shit, shit,_ Hana panicked. Okay, maybe it's not so bad. He wasn't acting like he knew who she was, so maybe he thought she was just a thief. _Which okay, that's not much better._

"Imamura-san?" _Welp, guess he knows it's me_. With a tinge of impatience, Akashi continued, "Please remove your hood if you aren't going to offer me a verbal explanation."

"Well, I was on my out—"

"No need," Akashi stated, "I've been meaning to talk to you. Now seems to be a convenient time."

Hana didn't like the sound of that, but she opened her mouth anyway, "About what?"

"Your connections to my teammates," the captain walked toward her and Hana took an automatic step back. Catching her movement, Akashi raised an eyebrow, "What happened to your past fearlessness? Have you become meek?"

"There's a big difference between meek and cautious," Hana answered as bravely as she could. For some reason, this seemed to please the red-head and his eyes lightened in humor. Akashi took another step forward and Hana forced herself to hold still. This was a game of dominance and she needed to make her position clear.

A gentle huff of air came from the boy in front of her. Akashi was amused at her efforts. Everything about her was screaming in fear, yet the girl remained in her place if only to defy him. A slight tilt of the head before he spoke, "This is true, but do you know which side you fall on?"

Hana remained silent at the challenge. The point of this meeting wasn't clear to her; she couldn't figure out why Akashi had followed her. If he wanted to threaten her, he should have done so by now.

In the silence, Akashi spoke again, "Another question remains. I'll admit this is a personal one, but my curiosity has been peaked."

Hana eyed him before nodding, "Go ahead. I don't promise any answers, though."

"Smart," he admitted. His red eyes scanned her from head to two, before stopping on the obnoxious hat and hood combination, "Please remove the hood and hat."

She wanted to disobey. Every inch of her wanted to ignore his order, _but now is not the time._ Closing her eyes, Hana released a stressed sigh before forcing herself to remove the mentioned articles. In return, Akashi quirked his lips at her face. Hana couldn't imagine what he was thinking, but she knew she was being studied.

"Now," his smooth voice spoke, "for my question." Akashi watched her with sharpened eyes, looking for any change of the girl's body language. Noting how she tensed her body in preparation, Akashi hummed, "Can you lie to me?"

Hana slammed her eyes shut to hide her horror. She knew it, she damn well knew he'd find out.

The truth of the matter was, yes she could lie to him, but he would know the second she opened her mouth. She could tell him yes until her mouth bleed, but he would never believe her. Hana couldn't lie to people that intimidated her and with the case of the Miracles, that happened to span across the whole team. Torio figured it had something to with her nerves spiking in strong presences thus causing her to lose her ability of deception.

She could always try, but that's where the problems come; take Kise for example. When she'd tried to convince him that she had been looking for him to deliver the cupcakes, he'd been able to call her out right away. Momoi had done the same at the shopping center. Then there was the incident with Kuroko at dinner, when she hadn't even been able to force the lie out of her mouth.

"No," Hana finally admitted. There was no use denying it to the captain. If he was asking her, he'd already been able to come to the conclusion by himself.

"I guessed as much," Akashi concluded. Red eyes met her own and he continued, "That must be inconvenient for you, but it fits my preferences quite nicely."

She wasn't looking at him, but Akashi continued despite her negligence, "Deception is a welcomed advantage to have. Yet, the problem comes in the form of controlling someone who is skilled in deflection and dishonesty. How can you expect loyalty from a liar?"

"You can't," Hana snapped at him, "Where are you going with this, Akashi-san?"

"You have involved yourself in my team; whether intentionally or by an accidental twist of fate. You are, in essence, an unexpected variable that had to be examined. Such close connections with several vital members could gift you an advantage over my control," he paused, "Which is why your weakness makes you valuable to me."

"Valuable? Don't talk about me like I'm a possession," Hana snarled and took a brave step forward. Giving her a side glance, Akashi stepped to the left and slowly rounded her.

"My words are not meant for offense," he explained, "In fact, the opposite. You are valuable in the sense that you have gifts I desire to use, yet you do not possess the side effect of those talents."

"… because I can't lie to you," Hana's voice had transferred into hesitancy as she worked to keep Akashi in her line of sight, "How can you expect me to help you? You seem to have forgot the hostility we have with another."

"Hostility will fade with time. Hasn't it already? You were so adamant in your hatred," Akashi's chuckle reached her ears as he circled back in front of her, "But where is that hatred now?"

"It's still there," she swallowed to ease her parched mouth.

Red eyes came to rest on her face and Hana flinched at his miniscule smile, "You're lying."

Directing a vicious scowl at Akashi, she spoke, "What are you trying to get?"

"Nothing for now," he conceded and raked piercing eyes over her again, "That will change in the future. But for now, you can be secure in your knowledge that you are no longer a pest to extinguish."

A shiver raced down her spine. _A pest to extinguish, he said. Was that implying a past threat?_ Akashi stood in front of her as an unmovable presence. It was similar to standing in a hallway with only one exit. The only way to get out of this situation was through him. She felt her heart stuttering painfully in her chest at the realization.

"And if I say no?" She questioned, "What would you do if I said I didn't want a part in whatever this is?"

"You won't," Akashi stated, "You wish to be of use. You wish for your talents to be acknowledged. Why would you refuse?"

"Because I'm not a member of your team," Hana countered, "I have my own to look out for. Why should I spend my time helping you instead of them?"

"Ah, but do they actively let you? In our first meeting, I recall you mentioning that your captain prefers to play fairly. Where do you come into that?"

"I'm more then what my talents imply," Hana snarled, "I can be a liar, but that is not all that I am. You're not going to shove me into a box and label just to fit your needs."

With a soft chuckle, Akashi closed the distant to stand in her personal bubble. He was only taller than her by about an inch, but that inch seemed miles long. His eyes locked onto hers, "I'm not asking much of you; I will only call on you when absolutely necessary. You wouldn't even part from your team."

"The thing is, Akashi-san, you don't need me," Hana pointed out. He truly didn't. His team was a force to be reckoned with and with his own societal status, Akashi had enough influence to get whatever he wanted. Her voice cracked as she tried to continue, "You have nothing to gain from my help."

"What you don't seem to understand, Imamura, is that while I may not have explicate need for you; I certainly do not want you against me," Akashi frowned at the thought, "You haven't reached your full potential, but when that time comes, I would rather you be on my side."

"So this is more of you covering your bases then a desire for my help," Hana stated.

"if you want it in simplistic terms, yes," Akashi looked away from her down the hall, "You could grow dangerous. I'm eliminating the threat while providing a solution."

Hana scoffed at him, "Two birds with one stone, huh?"

The side of his face turned toward her and Hana watched a smile tug up the corner of his lips, "Precisely."

"So say I agree to help you out," Hana speculated the purposed outcome, "What am I getting out of this?"

"Hmmm," Akashi sounded amused and Hana didn't like it, "Such a quick change of heart. You'd be gathering friendship of course, but you already have that. A sense of purpose seems appropriate."

"I don't need purpose," Hana countered.

"You don't want to be recognized?" Akashi turned toward her again, face intense, "To be thanked for your efforts? For your talents to be appreciated? I can see it in your eyes, the way you've talked about your captain. You want to help," he lowered his face so they could see perfectly eye to eye and Hana could swear one of them was orange, "Because you want someone to need you and I've just given you the offer you've longed for."

Hana jerked back with a curse and her hand longed to lash out at the boy. His pale face was haunting from the overhead lights and two different colored eyes gleamed in opposition. She took deliberate steps back and those damned eyes followed her every move. Sufficiently far enough from Akashi, Hana took a calming breath, "If I say yes, don't do that shit again."

"Is that your answer?" Akashi ignored her order. He would do as he pleased, but if she consents, he will keep her preferences in consideration.

"…Yes, but it doesn't seem like I've got much of a choice here, Akashi-san."

"You're trying to push full blame onto me," He challenged indifferently, "I merely stated your own feelings."

"Shut up," Hana snapped at him, reaching her breaking point. Two red eyebrows rose at her cheek and Hana continued, "Stop with the damn games! That's all this conversation has been and I'm absolutely sick of your shit-"

"Enough," Akashi ordered, "As it is now, I'm amused by your backlash, but it will not remain that way. I expect my teammates and my subordinates to listen to my commands. Your cheek can be attributed as part of an eccentric personality, but do not step out of line."

"Don't tell me what to do," Hana echoed after him. Her voice was failing her in the tense atmosphere and her outburst had zapped most of the energy out of her body. Akashi's lip quirked at her final attempt of defiance.

Meanwhile, the earlier flash of orange in his left eye had vanished, "I meant what I said, Imamura-san. I do believe your talents are prized and I hope we will be able to overcome this setback. In the meantime, I will be asking your captain permission to borrow you for our next practice. I do hope you'll remain accepting of our deal."

With his last shell shocking statement, Akashi turned to leave. As her defeat registered, Hana felt the urge to shout out after him. She didn't know what she planned to say and her mouth open and closed as she tried to sort out her thoughts. By the time she'd gathered herself, Akashi was already at the end of the hallway. Wide green eyes watched as he disappeared around the corner.

Leaning backwards against the wall, Hana sank to the floor. Her eyes stared forward unblinkingly and her hands twitched at her sides. The image of hetero-chromatic eyes played behind her irises on repeat like her own personal nightmare. She could find no plausible explanation.

 _What the hell was that…_

* * *

 _ **Dear Reviewers**_ **:**

 **Red Raspberries** **: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! This chapter doesn't have as many funny moments, but I promise to make up for it later!**

 **JeyaMendoza** **: Ahhh, all your reviews are great. I'm glad you're liking the interaction between everyone! I would apologize for making you question your ship, but it makes me too happy! As a final note, I hope I got Akashi's characterization okay… I know you're a really big fan of his and I hope you approve! Anyway, thank you!**

 **Crystalviolet24** **: Oh man, you were so right when you said Akashi was going to be hard to write. I could not get his character down for the life of me. But thank you for your support and compliments!**

 **Arah** **: Kise is one of my favorite characters too! I'm also glad you liked how I wrote him, thank you!**

 **Konno Miharu : She does get to keep him! And yes, only one more left! Thank you!**

 **Lostnights** **: Ah, I'm glad you think it's funny! Thank you!**

 **The Musical Reader** **: I think they're cute too! I love playful banter. And I'm so glad you liked Nūdoru! He just kind of shoved himself into the chapter and I couldn't get rid of the cuteness. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Roseheart37819** **: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was fun to write and mighttt happen again later. We'll see how things pan out.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Yay! New chapter! This hasn't been edited, like at all. There are probably tons of mistakes in here, but I have a term paper I have to do tonight and I wanted to put this out before I got started. If you find a big one, please let me know! I'll be editing it some time later this week to fix any possible problems. Final note, thank you all for your reviews, favorites, and follows! You guys all rock and I'm so happy to have your support for my story!**

 **Warnings:** **Bad language and violent monologues and _terrible_ editing skills. **

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

* * *

Revenge and Failure

Being sort of friends with Kuroko had its advantages. For one, his blunt honesty was appreciated. For two, he evened out the assortment of his crazy teammates with his calm presence. For three, Hana was gifted with an inside look into ghostly techniques. Something which she was taking extreme advantage of right now.

You see, Hana had observed Kuroko's ability to disappear at random. She couldn't copy it, of course, since her presence was in no way subtle. But she could apply the same technique and hide herself away. At least, that's what she was trying to do, because screw demonic captains and their orders; she was _not_ going to first-string practice.

Her hiding spot was in the gym inside a large container in the storage room. This decision put her in enemy lines, but people hardly assumed their prey would be hiding in plain sight. Hana wasn't completely sure what container she was located in, but the assortment of basketballs, volleyballs, and footballs led her to believe it was used to hold the various equipment. Unfortunately, it stank to high heaven.

Pushing a volleyball out of her face, Hana curled further into herself. She was trying to copy the look of a ball and had rolled herself into fetal position with her head laying comfortably against a football. Despite the smell, it was quite cozy in here. Because of her small stature, Hana enjoyed the feeling of tight spaces. It was comforting, to a degree, knowing that she was surrounded. Maybe she'd been a mole in her past life.

Time was passing slowly. She had skipped her math class to search for a hiding place and after an uncomfortable encounter with a couple in the nearest supply closest, she had ended up here. It hadn't been her first plan, but she was going to make the best out of it. So far Hana hadn't heard any noises outside in the gym and she assumed practice hadn't stated yet. It seemed like an opportune time to take a nap.

One quick nap later and it was still quiet in the gym. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Hana turned over and subsequently got a basketball to the face. Her sigh grew in length, but she made no movement to dislodge the orange ball. Let it stay for all she cared. At least it blocked out the light.

"Where is everyone?" a sudden voice echoed from the gym and Hana stiffened in recognition. _Kise._

Trying to channel her inner Kuroko, Hana curled herself tighter. She couldn't make out what Kise was doing in the gym, but she could faintly hear his movement. It sounded like he'd stepped onto the metal bleacher and the responding clank of metal informed her that he'd jumped off. Hana couldn't find a plausible reason for this behavior, but hell, it was _Kise._ Since when did he ever meet her expectations?

Loud footsteps brought her out of her thoughts and Hana belatedly realized that the door was opening. She could curse Kise, she really could. Out of everything he could do, he had to go in the damn supply closet? Her mind tried to rationalize that he was looking for the basketballs, but Hana didn't want to accept it. Stupid Kise.

To make matters worse, instead of heading toward the rack holding said basketballs, Kise's footsteps came toward her container. Hana held her breath and begged the universe to save her. There was no way to explain her presence unless she admitted to hiding and Imamura Hana did not _hide._ She just made strategic retreats.

The footsteps stopped. Hana wasn't gifted with sonar hearing, so she had no idea where the blond had gone. Hopefully very far away from herself. Sadly, this plea was proven obsolete when she felt shifting to the left of her.

"Where is it?" she heard Kise whine out, "Aomine-cchi always takes it, but I know he hides it in here!"

Hana couldn't breathe. A muscular hand had appeared in her line of sight and was digging around for something. Every time it retreated with a basketball, she could hear Kise's resulting huff of aggravation. It was slowly moving toward the ball resting upon her face like a shark searching for blood.

Kise grabbed another ball and pulled it out before pouting and tossing it to the side. He couldn't find it anywhere! There was one perfect ball in here. It had the best bounce, grip, and Kise suspected it had lucky powers. Aomine-cchi always got it somehow, but since he was here first, Kise could take it for himself! His hand grabbed another basketball. He was about to pull it out when something soft and warm graced against his fingers.

"Wah!" Kise shrieked, "What is that?"

Letting go of the basketball, Kise poked a daring finger out. He didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't something squishy. He jerked his hand back with another screech. Bewildered gold eyes stared down at the innocent pile of sports equipment. _Was that a person? A dead person?!_

He was scared to find out. What if it was one of his teammates?! Would he become a suspect? That would ruin his modeling career! Not to mention jail time! Kise's hand hung in midair and he couldn't convince himself to ignore it or to find out what it was. His curiosity was killing him though… So, with that, his hand moved forward to grasp the basketball and move it out of the way.

Sudden light blinded Hana and she slammed her eyes shut. She could hear a loud pitch scream, but she didn't dare try to open her eyes so quickly. The screaming got louder with her continued lack of movement and Hana finally blinked her eyes open. A frantic looking Kise was suspended over the container and firing questions at her.

"Imamura-chan!" Kise leaned as close to her as he could, "Are you okay?!"

"… I'm good," Hana managed to reply. She could feel her face burning and the tell-tale sweat lining her spine indicated her mortification.

"Did someone hurt you?! What happened?!"

In a normal situation, Hana would begrudgingly admit that Kise's worry felt nice, but right now she was too embarrassed to feel honored. Her voice came out shaky, "No, no. I'm okay Kise-kun. I was just ah-" she searched for a half truth, "-taking a nap."

Because of the florescent light behind Kise, Hana was unable to see the slackening of his jaws. Or the way a large drop of sweat dripped down his forehead in resignation. He blinked at the girl, "In our storage closet?"

"It's not yours," Hana tried to muster up her courage, "Anyway, the air circulation is very nice in here. Helps keep my head clear- stop looking at me like that."

She couldn't see his expression, but his disbelief was radiating off him in waves. She figured his face probably matched his attitude. At her order, Kise let out a choked laugh. He really shouldn't be surprised, but he was! Not to mention the way she looked! Kise couldn't see the rest of her body and it looked like her head was just floating along with the other balls. Even the narrowed green eyes didn't stop his laughter.

"Why do you keep finding me in such embarrassing situations," Hana huffed as she watched the blond.

Kise hadn't calmed down yet and croaked out an answer, "It's your fault, Imamura-chan!"

"How's this my fault?!" Hana demanded before pausing as understanding came, "Okay, so it's my fault, but stop finding me!"

"No way!" Kise denied, "This is super funny! First the boys dressing room and now our gym! Imamura-chan's a voyeur~"

"Kise!" Hana snarled and tried to get out of the container only to fall back again. Her earlier uncomfort had vanished in her fury, "I'm going to rip you apart!"

On his part, Kise had now grown awkward. That was the first time he'd heard Imamura-chan say his name without honorifics and it was… odd. He blinked at the girl as his laughter faded out. What was he supposed to do now?

"I'm so serious," Hana growled and flapped her arms against the surrounding balls, "You think me scrubbing your head was bad? Wait till you see me rip it off your body!"

Hana still hadn't noticed Kise's sudden seriousness and Kise took the time to reflect. Akashi-cchi, Midorima-cchi, and Aomine-cchi never used honorifics, but they were teammates. He also didn't think Imamura-chan meant it affectionately because she was still threatening to decapitate him. Was she using it in the familiar sense?

"You called me Kise," he finally managed, "You've never done that before."

"You're more concerned with your name instead of your soon to be death?!"

"Yeah, because you can't hurt me," he offered a side smirk in an attempt to break this new tension, "You don't want to hurt my pretty face!"

"I do," Hana deadpanned as she gave up on trying to escape the container. She wasn't going to be getting out of here anytime soon unless Kise helped. Which was something she was in no hurry to ask for.

"Don't change the subject, Imamura-chan~"

"You changed it first! Besides, it's not a big deal! You can't effectively threaten someone while calling them _-kun!_ "

Kise paused for a minute with an indescribable expression before a pout broke out, "Awhh, I thought you finally fell for my charms."

"...what."

"Well," that damn sly look had entered his eyes, "It was quite a familiar greeting. I thought you might like me~"

"No!" Hana picked up her struggling and tried to get at the smirking blond. Meanwhile, Kise just continued to grin as he watched her flounder about. Realizing she was getting nowhere, she glared at him, "Can you help me?"

"I didn't hear a please~"

"I'm not going to say please," Hana grumped at him, "You're lucky I can't reach you… Man you are so lucky I can't reach you."

"I don't knooow," Kise leaned his arms, _why do basketball players have such nice arms,_ against the metal container, "You look kind of cute like this, all riled up. Like a tiny baby kitten~"

Her previous speckling of blush transformed from its red tone into a marvelous purple. Hana wasn't sure where this was going, hell she wasn't sure what _this_ was. If it were any other guy, Hana would have said they were flirting with her. But, shit, this was Kise. He had to be messing with her. Despite this revelation, Hana couldn't get her mouth to do anything other than gape.

"Awh~" Kise simpered, "Imamura-chan! It's nothing to be embarrassed of! In fact—"

"Kise!" Another voice interrupted from the gym, "Where the hell are you?"

In front of her Kise offered a genuine frown, "Aomine-cchi?" _Where's Akashi-cchi?_

Hana's mouth finally managed to do something and she spoke, "Oh shit."

"Imamura-chan?" Kise turned his frown back to her. The girl had sunk herself deeper into the container and was trying to bury herself in the surrounding balls. Kise blinked.

"Shhh," she commanded as she sunk lower, "I was never here."

Kise offered her nothing but silence and Hana optimistically hoped that he listened to her. As her head went into the smelly pit a determined hand grabbed her ankle and _pulled._ Hana let out a shriek as Kise tugged her back to the surface with a bright smile.

"Why are you hiding, Imamura-chan?" Those damn golden eyes were sparkling in mirth and Hana wanted to _destroy_ him. His hand was still holding her ankle, surprisingly, but Hana was more concerned with his mischievous attitude. _Out of all of them, Kise ranks right under Akashi in the not-to-be-trusted group. Damn imp._

"…the hell?" Aomine's voice interjected in Hana's silence. Kise and Hana both turned toward the door, surprised. The tanned male stood in the doorway with both eyebrows raised to his hairline. Behind him, Hana noticed a few other players bustling around, but she couldn't name them. Aomine spoke again, "I'm not gonna ask…" a slow shake of the head, "Where is everyone?"

Kise frowned, "Akashi-cchi isn't here yet? What time is it?"

"Nah, neither is Tetsu. I sent Satsuki to go look for him, but she hasn't had any luck," Aomine pulled out his phone and stared at it, "Practice started about fifteen minutes ago."

"What?!" Kise gaped and subsequently pulled Hana's ankle higher, "But they're never late! What about Midorima-cchi and Murasakibara-cchi?"

"Nope, not here," Aomine drawled and eyed Hana's out stretched leg, "Might want to put her down before you pull something."

Kise dropped her quickly and Hana let out a surprised huff into the balls. Poking her head back out, she glared at the blond, "Ever heard of the word gentle?"

Ignoring her, Kise continued to chatter with Aomine, "So, does that mean we don't have practice?"

"Nijimura's here," Aomine answered with a shrug, "If they don't show up I'm sure he'll take over. You just don't want to do your drills."

"And I'm ignored," Hana mumbled to herself, "Should have just kept sleeping."

In direct opposite to her statement, Aomine turned to her with one blue eyebrow raised, "Why are you here?"

"Imamura-chan's a voyeur," Kise simpered from the side, "She likes to watch us~"

Hana and Aomine both flung out at once. Hana's foot hit Kise on top of the head and Aomine's hand slammed into the blonde's stomach with a _smack_. As Kise huffed in pain, Hana muttered, "Damn shame the plans for you didn't work."

Navy eyes and gold eyes turned to her simultaneously, both mirrored by suspicious faces. Aomine spoke first, "What plans?"

"You planned against me?" Kise wailed dramatically, "That's so mean!"

Aomine cut Kise off to continue his questioning, "What plan, Imamura?"

"Uhm," Hana postponed in the overwhelming tension, "It wasn't an evil plan… I promise?"

"Talk," was Aomine's only response. Kise watched warily from the side, but his gold eyes were narrowed contemplatively. Two against one was hardly fair, but Hana could scarcely speak. _These were my ideas after all…_

"Err… well you see… Akashi-san might have rubbed me the wrong way this weekend and demanded I go to your practice. Which I wasn't going to do, hence the hiding, but I did make a couple back up plans… Just in case," A guilty shrug accompanied her explanation.

"…" Aomine was silent but his eyebrows had furrowed over darkened eyes. He definitely did _not_ look amused.

Kise on the other hand, looked thoughtful, "That doesn't explain much, Imamura-chan. You should try better~"

Hana coughed to try to hide her nerves. Forcing herself into a sitting position, she turned to face the two boys, "Okay, so it started like this…"

* * *

"He tricked me, Uoya-kun!" angry arms flailed in the air, "That son of a bi-"

"Hana-chan!" Uoya spluttered as he watched the angry girl stalk across her bedroom. Nūdoru was still laying in his lap, but even the dog could feel the tension. He continued to talk, "Calm down, please!"

"I will not calm down! He thinks he can order me around! Well, that's not how I work!"

"…Uhm, I hate to tell you, but I did warn you," Uoya offered.

"When?!" Hana spun on her heel and pointed a sharp finger at him. Uoya shivered at the threat and he could swear Nūdoru let out a chuckle.

"…" Uoya swallowed his nerves, "Remember when I said being rude to Akashi-san was going to bite you in the ass? Well it did."

As the information sunk into her brain, Hana felt her eyes widen in realization. _He did warn me! Why didn't I listen?!_ Collapsing to her knees in front of him, Hana peered up at Uoya with begging eyes, "You gotta help me, Uoya-kun. I can't let this slide!"

"I really don't think revenge is going to solve this…"

"Revenge solves everything," Hana answered, "It's the law of nature."

"…That's not… Okay. What do you have planned?" Uoya sighed out. He knew his friend and by now she already had several plans laid out inside her head. The only issue was, since she was talking to him, they involved him too.

"Well, they aren't completely revenge plans. More like… a way to get under Akashi's skin," Hana admitted before flopping down next to Uoya and Nūdoru. Her voice trailed off as she began to explain part one, "The easiest one will be Murasakibara."

Plan Munchies

"You are an idiot," Uoya grumbled as he crawled beside Hana, "A damn idiot."

"You're just saying that because I dragged you along. You gotta admit this is brilliant."

Uoya groaned as he avoided a spilled drink on the cafeteria floor, "Just hurry up, please."

"You can't rush perfection," Hana snapped over her shoulder as she continued to crawl underneath the lunch tables. The target was in sight and all she had to do was avoid getting stepped on by the multitudes of feet. Dodging a disgustingly muddy pair of shoes, Hana made the last dash into the cafeteria's cooking room.

There were three people working; two women and one man. All of them had the proper sanitary equipment on, but hell, Hana didn't care about that. What she did care about was the various assortments of baked goods resting on the far-right table. The assortment was a sweet-tooth's wet dream. Which was _exactly_ why she came here.

The male worker turned toward her and Hana ducked down expertly. She could feel her heart beating behind her chest as she watched the man frown thoughtfully. He took a step toward her direction, but stopped as his fellow worker called out to him. Hana watched the man carefully as he narrowed his eyes at the cart she was hiding behind before turning away.

 _One,_ she relaxed her muscles, _two,_ she waited for them all to turn away, _three,_ she ran. Pulling a bag out of her back pocket, Hana flapped it open before darting toward the deserts. With a quick arm, she shoved as many as she could into the bag. Hana jumped up and down in silent excitement right before darting out of the cooking room as quick as she came.

"You did it…" Uoya gaped at the assortment of sweets. Hana sat beside him and radiated satisfaction. _Hell yes, I did it._

Hana smirked at her friend in return, "Now we just have to set the bait."

Murasakibara was never excited to go to practice. Maybe once a long time ago, he'd enjoyed it. But now, just the thought of running all around made him want to take a long nap. As he meandered out of class with his back pack slung over his shoulder, he paused at the extra weight. _I don't remember bringing that many snacks._

Taking slow steps to the edge of the hallway, Murasakibara opened his backpack curiously. It would be a pleasant surprise if he found an extra snack or two in there. As the zip opened, lazy purple eyes blinked at the box that had not been in his bag earlier.

It was completely see through and he drooled at the sight of the delicious sweets nestled in the middle. The only down side came in the form of the tightly knotted ropes that looped around it. A large hand pulled at a knot only for the owner to grunt in dissatisfaction. Murasakibara furrowed his eyebrows as he glared at the tempting box. _Are the knots glued together? I'll crush whoever did this._

Still eyeing the box, Murasakibara leaned against the wall behind him and worked on the knots. A brief thought of his captain had him pausing, but the sweets were too tempting.

 _Aka-chin won't mind if I'm late._

The Lucky Item Plan

"No," Uoya stated, stubbornly.

"You just have to distract him! Two minutes, tops! I'll swoop in, snatch it, then swoop out!"

"I'm not talking to him," Uoya spoke. His lanky arms had folded over his chest and Hana wanted to twitch at his stubbornness.

"Fine!" Hana grumbled in defeat, "You don't have to talk to him. Just distract him, I don't care how!"

"Alright," Hana didn't like the evil grin on Uoya's face, but hell, she didn't have room to talk. "I'll meet you in fifteen minutes, Hana-chan."

Fifteen minutes later, Hana was watching Midorima in astonishment. _How had Uoya done that? Dude, Midorima is going to kill him._ The green headed boy looked so weird without glasses, kind of handsome, but still weird. Tilting her head to side, Hana noted that he looked better with them. But that didn't matter. She had a mission.

Since her target was now visually impaired, Hana was going to swoop in while he was standing from his seat. It was still lunch period, but it was quickly ending. Her plan was to follow behind Midorima and snatch the lucky item before he got to his class. It was only a matter of time.

Finally, lunch was over and Hana released a tense breath. Her target was standing and Hana stood with him. Weaving through the surrounding students, she made her way behind Midorima. Cancer's lucky item for the day was a monkey and as such, Midorima had brought a stuffed monkey to school with him. It's fuzzy, little head was sticking out of his bag and Hana almost didn't want to take it.

Walking faster, she brushed by Midorima and her hand grasped the monkeys head. It came out easily and Hana slipped it into the side of her blazer before darting away. A quick glance backward gave no sign that Midorima had noticed and, for that, Hana gave a sigh of relief.

Practice didn't matter to Midorima. He enjoyed it enough, but it did not highlight the end of his days. Even worse was that he'd lost his lucky item during lunch. It had been a thorn in his side all day and not to mention his _glasses!_ Some _fool_ had snatched them off his head during the lunch time rush and he hadn't been able to see far enough to stop them. Whoever they were, they were gracious enough to leave them with his teacher, but that did not stop his annoyance.

With his glasses back on his face, Midorima was making his way toward practice. Except… _what was that?_ That looked suspiciously like his monkey. Glued to the _girl's restroom?!_ Walking toward it stiffly, Midorima stopped and stared at the innocent monkey for a moment. Reaching a hand out to grab it, the door swung open and a short girl shot him a startled gaze before retreating away.

Blushing up to his ears, Midorima coughed and attempted to grab it again. This time a girl came up behind him and ducked under his arm with a giggle. His blush grew and he tried to snatch the monkey again. Another girl. The pattern continued.

 _Practice wouldn't be sufficient without my lucky item…_

The Fan Plan

"I don't think this will work…" Uoya stated as he eyed the shirtless picture of Kise. _Where the hell did she get that?_

"I know," Hana agreed grumpily as she texted away on her phone, "But I don't know what else to do."

"You could lock him in a closet or something," Uoya offered and Hana felt like a proud mom. _He was learning so well!_ Uoya continued, "That's not even his chest."

"And how would you know that, Uoya-kun?"

"Aghk! Don't look at me like that Hana-chan! We played together, remember?"

"What a convincing excuse, dearest friend. I wouldn't mind anyway, it would be so cute-"

"Hana-chan, shut up and send your messages!"

Shooting Uoya a smug grin, Hana clicked send on the group message. Now, a picture of a swimsuit clad Kise was sent to fan club members throughout the school with the happy message of _Free Autographs After Class!_ A few seconds passed before a shriek echoed around the school. Hana and Uoya flinched together before shooting uneasy looks toward the ceiling of the supply closest they were in.

"How many people did you send that too?" Uoya whispered.

Hana gulped and looked down at her phone, "Everyone in the online fan group… So, uhm, 278."

Kise liked basketball practice. Having something that was challenging was exciting to him, especially the games. Some of his teammates didn't share his enthusiasm so Kise had learned to tone it down a bit. Which was saying something, because he still _really_ liked it. It might not be the game itself; maybe it was the feeling of performing, whether it be in modeling or in sports, that he enjoyed.

 _Well_ , he blinked at the mob of girls outside his classroom door, _I don't really like that._ They were screaming and begging and crying out for him. Taking a step back, Kise shot his classmates a regretful grin. One of the guys gave him a sneer before pushing the door open and wading into the masses. The screaming rose in pitch and Kise eyed the slowly closing door.

With the speed earned from years of different sports, Kise darted out the door while dodging the grabbing hands and running full speed. _Sorry girls! Can't be late for Akashi-cchi!_

The Ghost Plan

"Okay, Nūdoru, this is the moment of truth," Hana crouched in front of the large dog with a familiar jersey in her hand. Behind her, Uoya raised his eyebrows.

"I doubt he understands," the sixth year deadpanned, "You're going to get caught if you don't hurry up."

"No one checks back here, it's fine," Hana dismissed him and turned back toward the dog, "Okay, bud. Smell this?"

A wet nose poked at the jersey and Nūdoru sniffed it. Furry black eyebrows descended over his eyes and he sniffed it again. This time he gave Hana a huff, which Hana assumed meant yes. She patted his head and rubbed at his ears affectionately, _such a good puppy._

"When you smell this guy," Hana continued to explain to the dog, "Go up and say hello. If you stall him, I'll give you some meat tonight for dinner."

"Hana-chan, he's a dog. He won't—"

Uoya was interrupted by Nūdoru's determined bark. The huge dog had stood up and was pacing happily with the jersey between his jaws. His bulky head tilted at the two people in front of him before he danced toward the school.

"Wait! Not yet!" Hana tried to stop him, but Nūdoru had already slunk inside the school grounds, "Shit."

"He just went on campus! Hana-chan!" Uoya shot up and stared at the dog's retreating back in shock. Hana watched Nūdoru circle around the front entrance before perking up at a noise. The dog was a black flash as he darted toward a hiding place. Both teens blinked at the sight of the dog shadowed in such a tiny bush.

"He's got this…" Hana scratched her head nervously, "I hope."

Kuroko loved basketball with everything he had. He loved to practice, he loved to play, and he loved his teammates. As he walked out of his final class, memories of Ogiwara popped into his head causing the short player to smile faintly. Reaching the front exit, Kuroko began to walk down the staircase only to pause at the sight in front of him. _That's a dog._

It was, in fact, a very big dog. Nūdoru was sitting primly on his bottom at the start of the staircase and looked up at Kuroko with a joyful gaze. Now, Kuroko liked dogs, but this. This wasn't normal. First of all, he was on Teiko's campus. Second, he noticed a familiar number printed on the shirt the dog was holding. Despite his confusion, Kuroko continued down the stairs and looked at Nūdoru with a blank face.

"Hello."

The dog woofed at him in return.

"May I ask why you have my jersey?" Kuroko came to stand beside the dog and knelt.

His hand had just reached the clothing when a headbutt sent him to the side. Blue eyebrows rose as the dog circled around him and pushed his back. Believing the dog wanted him to stand, Kuroko did so. Another headbutt to the back of his knees had him moving. With a hint of surprise, Kuroko shot the dog a look over his shoulders. Nūdoru looked up at the blue haired boy happily before headbutting him again.

 _It's as if I'm being herded,_ Kuroko blinked at the revelation, _Doesn't Imamura-chan have a dog?_

Trying to turn around, Kuroko decided his jersey would have to wait. Nūdoru sensed his movement and curled himself through the short boy's legs, forcing him to continue walking. Kuroko let out a tired sigh and relented.

 _I'm going to be late. Hopefully, Akashi-kun will be understanding._

As if hearing his thoughts, Nūdoru pushed him forward again. Unfortunately, it was in the opposite direction of the gym.

The Two for One Plan

"Where did you get that."

Hana blushed up to the tips of her ears, "There was a two for one sale at the store."

"…What did you do with the other one?!"

"I kept it!" Uoya shot her a disgusted look, "Don't look at me like that! It might come in handy later!"

"I don't want to know what you'd do with a magazine like that," Uoya grumbled before resting against the wall, "How is this going to affect Momoi-san too?"

"Aomine always calls her if he needs help," Hana explained as she finished spreading the glue across the cover, "If this works out correctly, he'll have to."

"Where did you get so much glue…"

"I have an abundance at home," Hana admitted without shame before flipping the magazine over and gluing the back cover too, "I wanted to try scrapbooking that one time, remember?"

"Yeah, that turned out horribly. You massacred that book."

"You just don't appreciate true art," Hana retorted as she stood. The project was now complete, all she had to do was put it in place, "Come on, I'm going to need your help to reach the ceiling."

Aomine was tired. School wore him out and practice was only going to make him more tired. He'd been thinking about skipping it lately, if only to get an extra nap in. Besides, it wasn't like he _needed_ to go. He only came so Satsuki wouldn't fuss and well, it was fun to hand out with Tetsu. Sauntering out of his class, he veered off toward the restrooms. His always needed to piss after a good nap in class.

Shoving the bathroom door open, Aomine gawked at the magazine that hung in front of his face. _The hell?_ His eyes trailed up from the magazine toward the piece of string that attached it to the ceiling. Perplexed eyes went back down to look at the magazine. It was rotating slowly and as the cover came to front, a slow smile spread across his face.

His hands came out to grab the gravure magazine greedily. _Finders keepers, losers…whatever._

He was about to flip it open, but he couldn't. Thrown off guard, Aomine looked down at the book with wide eyes. He tried to lift his hand, but it stayed firmly attached to the cover. His other hand repeated the process with the same results. As the situation sank in, Aomine started to sweat. He couldn't walk around school with this!

"Gotta find Satsuki," He tried to hide magazine as best as he could, "She'll know what to do…"

Momoi had become used to Aomine popping up at random. What she wasn't used to, however, was being yanked out of the hallway by said person. She had been on her way to practice when a tan body had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her. Well… pushed her would be more accurate. She was about to open her mouth to scold her childhood friend when she caught sight of his hands. _What…_

"What is that, Aomine-kun!"

"I don't know! I grabbed it and now it's stuck!" He flapped his hands around, but the magazine did nothing but ruffle. Opening her mouth in a gape, Momoi starred at the bikini clad woman on the cover.

"…wah?"

"It doesn't matter!" Aomine cut her off, "You gotta help me get this off!"

Reaching a hand out, Momoi grabbed onto the cover and _pulled._ Unfortunately, this did nothing but cause her hand to get stuck too. Trying to rip it off, Momoi wailed, "Aomine-kun!"

"I didn't do it! Some idiot put glue on it!"

"Why didn't you tell me that?!"

The two floundered around a bit before giving up and shooting identical annoyed looks at the magazine. Spending a moment to assess the situation, Momoi sighed, "Let's go try to wash it off… Maybe that will work."

 _We're going to be late… Akashi-kun isn't going to be pleased._

The Finale

Akashi Seijuro did not like surprises. He didn't enjoy the idea of a person having more knowledge of a situation then himself. Knowledge was at the forefront of control after all. As he reflected these thoughts, Akashi closed his neatly organized notebook. The lesson today had been quite easy and it was almost a shame. Challenges could be appreciated.

Turning to put his notebook into his bag, a piece of paper fluttered out. Red eyes watched as it twisted innocently in the air before landing on the floor. The hand writing was unfamiliar, which indicated someone had placed it into his possession. A pale hand grabbed the paper and a singular eyebrow rose as he read the contents.

A king's duty never ends

Even if his servitors are out of mends

Despite a timely date

The king must save the servers fate

With a twitch of the lips, Akashi folded the note and put it away. There were only a few people in this school with the mental fortitude or stupidity to challenge him directly. A quick inventory of those people left him with the revelation that only one of them had a reason for this. Standing from his desk, Akashi shouldered his bag before leaving the classroom. Like the note said, a king should protect his subjects.

As he searched for his teammates, his smile turned sharp. A surprise and challenge in one. Something unpleasant mixed in turn with something enjoyable.

 _What an apt description for the manager._

* * *

Two incredulous looks were directed at her face. Kise and Aomine were in shocked stupor. Both boys didn't know whether to be mad or in awe of her. Aomine was leaning toward anger, but Kise was leaning toward awe. Finally, the two boys turned toward each other. Hana watched as they communicated silently.

"Do you know how long it took to get that glue off?" Aomine eventually grunted. His eyes were narrowed slits on the tiny girl.

Hana shrugged sheepishly, "Sorry?"

"Sorry isn't going to cut it," Aomine returned, "You owe me."

"I don't owe you!"

"If you don't want payback, then yeah, you owe me."

"I agree with Aomine-cchi, that was mean of you, Imamura-chan!" Kise had adopted a teary expression, "Why would you do that to us?!"

"… So I wouldn't have to go to your practice?" Hana offered, "Also, it felt good to get revenge on Akashi-san."

"But you didn't have to include us in it!" Kise wailed and Aomine jerked his head in agreement.

"I want that magazine," the navy eyed boy demanded, "The other one was ruined by your stupidity, so I want it."

"Fine, fine," Hana grumbled from her place in the container, "I'll give it to you later."

"You owe me too," Kise sang out, "That was mean of you to lie to all those girls! Now I have to fix it!"

"…" Hana narrowed her eyes at Kise, "What do you want?"

Humming to himself, Kise shrugged, "I'm not sure yet. But I'll let you know when I figure it out!"

An awkward silence spread across the three of them. Hana could tell she wasn't in the clear with either boy, but at least they didn't look necessarily angry. In fact, Aomine was smirking. That could either be a good thing or a _really bad_ thing. Hana shot him a weary look before beginning, "Why do you look like that?"

"Thinking about Midorima," Aomine admitted as his smirk grew, "That's funny shit."

"Ah," Hana mumbled in-eloquently. A glance around her surroundings had her speaking again, "So, since were all good now, could one of you help me out of here?"

The two boys exchanged silent glances again. This time, Kise was the one who started smirking and Hana felt the sinking feeling of dread nestle into her chest. The blond came to the edge and offered a hand out to her. Grasping onto it, Kise pulled her closer and tucked the arm around her waist before lifting her out. In the background, Aomine leaned against the door-frame with a grin. He had a feeling he knew where Kise was going with this.

"Thank you—" Hana stumbled as Kise pulled her tighter and began to walk, "Can you let me go now?"

"Nope! Akashi-cchi wanted you to come to our practice! So here we go~" Kise taunted as he transferred his arm to lay across her shoulders.

As Kise lead her back out to the court, Hana felt her the blood drain from her face. _That wasn't part of the plan!_ In a desperate attempt, she darted forward but Kise merely tightened his arm around her shoulders. Her green eyes turned toward the blond in a soundless plea, but Kise just smiled down at her happily.

Behind them, Aomine followed with a snort, "You look like a creep, Kise."

"Hey!" Kise whined, but his smile remained, "If I let go she's going to run off! Imamura-chan needs to apologize to the others too~"

"… You're the most conniving little shit I've ever had the horror of meeting," Hana growled.

"Bah," Aomine chuckled at Kise's offended gasp, "Could say the same about you, Imamura."

Hana turned her glare away from Kise and directed it to Aomine. She could feel the eyes of the rest of the first-string team watching their grouping curiously, but paid it no mind. Her mouth opened in a retort before slamming shut. Behind Aomine was the rest of the colorful hair squad and Nūdoru who was curled around Kuroko's legs in content.

"Hello, Imamura," Akashi began pleasantly. The smile from earlier was still staining his lips, "Thank you for joining us today."

Behind the captain, Murasakibara was watching her thoughtfully as he ate the deserts out of his now open box. His head titled in subtle confusion, "She's so small…"

The other three; Midorima, Kuroko, and Momoi were all wearing different expressions. For some reason Momoi looked sheepish and Hana had a feeling it had to do with Akashi, but she wasn't certain. Kuroko looked mildly annoyed, but he was petting Nūdoru's head anyway. A glance at her dog showed why the blue haired boy might be annoyed, as his jersey was saturated in dog saliva. _Opps... Better wash that for him later._

Midorima, on the other hand, looked more than _mildly_ annoyed. His face was still coated in the remnants of a pink blush and his hands were gripping the stuffed monkey tightly. Hana winced at his narrowed stare, _I'm going to have to do a lot of ass kissing, aren't I?_

"Ah," Hana managed as she felt Kise's chest shake in silent laughter, "Hello there…"

Watching Akashi's smile, Hana only had one thought.

 _The predator has captured the prey._

* * *

Hana side-eyed an amused Momoi in exasperation. Despite her wishes, Hana had been forced to attend the first-string practice. For some weird reason, all the players seemed to be amused about her circumstances. Even the ones she didn't know! Hana didn't know what was so damn funny, but she hoped they shared the joke soon.

Unbeknownst to Hana, she had been pouting for the entirety of practice. What had started off as a barely noticeable frown had morphed into a full out sulk. Momoi glanced over at her friend again, before turning back to her clipboard with a giggle. She wished she could take a picture of Imamura-chan, but she knew the feisty girl would snap at her.

Meanwhile, as Hana pouted, a few first-string players had broken apart to take a water break. Kuroko and Nijimura were a part of the group and Hana turned her gaze onto them. Kuroko looked exhausted and Hana felt a smidgen of sympathy for the boy. _He really needs to work on his stamina, but how?_ As she watched, Nijimura passed by Kuroko and patted his shoulder in encouragement.

Trailing her eyes away from the duo, Hana zeroed in on Kise. She hadn't been paying much attention when Akashi ordered everyone to begin practice, but she had heard something about Kise having to do extra work for not making his twenty points last game. The thought caused Hana to roll her eyes. She had no right to judge Akashi's decisions, but that sounded thoughtless. _Not to mention, there's five of them. That means 100 points! That's just excessive._

Speaking of Akashi, the captain was working along Midorima and Aomine. It was boring and Hana didn't really care what they were doing. Frankly, it looked like shooting practice. _Which is sooo boring,_ Hana moaned. Their whole practice was boring. The team was absorbed in drills, which while a good thing, was also tedious. She was used to her team and their rambunctious behavior.

"Is your practice always…" Hana searched for a non-insulting word, "So monotonous?"

Apparently, that word wasn't the best to use because Momoi blinked at her in confusion, "Monotonous?"

"You know—boring?" Hana winced and shot Momoi a guilty smile, hoping the other manager didn't take offense.

"Oh," Momoi paused, "Sometimes I guess. I think everyone's acting different because you're here."

"Oh really," Hana drawled as she watched the players run about, "Well, in that case! I should go!"

"Stop being stupid," Aomine drawled behind the two managers. Momoi remained unfazed at his surprise appearance, but Hana launched herself into the air with a gasp. Some of the surrounding players turned to stare at her and Hana snarled at them. Meanwhile, Aomine reached between them to get to the cooler, "You're here. Suck it up."

"No!" Hana whined in a good impression of Kise, "This is weird. I'm _consorting_ with the enemy!"

"We go to the same school," Aomine deadpanned.

"…Meh, systematics," Hana dismissed him with a blush. _He just doesn't understand._

"Aomine-kun is right though, Imamura-chan," Momoi offered as she scribbled notes on her clipboard, "You're being silly."

Hana huffed. Out of everyone, Momoi had the ability to chastise her best. Kuroko could do it occasionally, but Hana seldom witnessed it. On the other hand, Akashi could probably _force_ her to stop by sheer willpower. Giving Momoi a guilty look, Hana murmured, "Fine, I'll shut up."

"Finally," Aomine spoke before replacing his water bottle, "I've been telling you do that for ages."

"You!" Hana snarled, "Just for that, I'm never shutting up! I will talk until you go deaf!"

Aomine waved a hand over his shoulder before running off and Hana growled. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

To her side, Momoi sweat dropped at the attention the black-haired girl was bringing. Speaking to herself, Momoi sighed, "Well, you certainly bring excitement, Imamura-chan."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, practice was over. In a normal circumstance, Hana would consider this great. She might even throw a party! But, today, it was not so exciting. You see, she could tell she was going to have to apologize. Which was not something she wanted to do, but several of the miracles still looked annoyed at her earlier tricks.

It was when Midorima shot her another glare that she finally caved. Hana released a long sigh before opening her mouth, "I apologize."

Cue stunned silence. Seriously, it wasn't that big of deal. She apologized before! _Why does everyone look like I've just murdered someone?_ As everyone continued to stare, Hana started to frown. The first person to make a change of expression was Akashi, who offered her a loaded once over before turning away. Hana assumed that was a twisted type of approval and she watched him carefully, _I'm not apologizing to you, mister. I'm still pissed about our deal._

The next person to move was Midorima, who offered her a slow nod. His eyes were still narrowed when he spoke, "Please refrain from touching my lucky item again," his glasses flashed, "And tell your _foolish_ friend not to touch my glasses."

 _Okay, sooo he's still annoyed. Would bribery fix it?_ Hana brought her hands together nervously, "Er, I'll buy your lucky item one day to make up for it?"

Midorima continued to look at her for a moment and Hana had to fight a shiver. _Scary aura, who'd have guessed?_ Finally, the green-headed boy nodded in satisfaction, "I'll be expecting it tomorrow."

Releasing a sigh, Hana turned her guilty eyes onto Kuroko. The ghost player eyed her and this time Hana let herself shiver. She _hated_ that! Stupid mind reading thing! Kuroko looked amused and Hana would bet money he knew what she was thinking.

His voice was neutral when he spoke, "There's no need to apologize, Imamura-chan. I've been wanting to meet your new dog anyway," a glance to the corner of the gym where Nūdoru rested, "Although I would have preferred a different meeting."

"Yeah sorry, I didn't think he'd like you so much," Hana moved her gaze to a smiling Momoi, "I'm sorry I accidently glued you to Aomine-san."

"It's okay! It was pretty easy to get off, since the glue was water soluble," Momoi looked mischievous for a second, "And it was really funny watching Aomine-kun's freak out."

"…Satsuki," Aomine groaned from his resting place on the floor, "It wasn't funny. Oi, Imamura? Where's my apology."

"You don't get one," Hana stated and ignored his resulting gawk, "I said I'd give you the other magazine! That was an apology!"

"No, it wasn't," Aomine sat up on the palms of his hands, "Don't apologize to everyone but me!"

"I'm not saying sorry to Kise, either."

"-Wah! Why not!?" Kise yelped from the goal line. He still had a few more drills to do before Akashi-cchi was satisfied.

"Because you—You dragged me in here!" Hana retorted. Okay, she didn't have a good reason other than pettiness, but she wasn't going to admit that!

"You were hiding in th—"

"No! Do not speak of that!"

In the background, the rest of the miracles watched the two impassively. The ones that sat with Hana at lunch were used to this, but Akashi and Murasakibara where not. As he watched the two bicker, Akashi raised an eyebrow at Imamura's use of Kise's name. He hadn't expected that kind of familiarity, but it would be useful in the end. Finally, the two stopped arguing and Hana was left to huff in defeat. _Kise always wins these arguments, it's not fair!_

"Fine," Hana spat out, "I'm sorry, Kise and Aomine-san."

As he munched on a stick of dango, Murasakibara sighed. _This is taking so long, why does she keep talking?_ Swallowing the rest of his dessert, he yawned, "I want to go home. You need to stop talking."

Hana twitched and slowly turned to the giant, "… I'm sorry, Murasakibara-san."

"I don't care," he drawled as he stretched up to his full height, _which holy shit._ Hooded purple yes landed on the small girl in contempt, "I'm hungry and you're taking too long."

"…" Hana narrowed her eyes on the tallest boy and resisted stomping her foot. The other teammates watched the interaction warily, except for Akashi and Kuroko. The captain was curious to see how this turned out, while Kuroko already knew the outcome.

Murasakibara yawned again and waved a slow hand, "I don't like short girls. They're so angry."

"What," Hana practically growled and her feet stomped forward without her command, "Well, I don't like tall boys!"

Aomine, Kise, and Midorima all blanched at the insult to their height. The two shorter boys, Akashi and Kuroko showed no outward reaction, but inwardly both felt smug. Meanwhile, Murasakibara had turned back around and was frowning at the annoying girl. _Why does she keep talking?_

Seeing the tension in the purple haired boy, Momoi stepped forward, "Hey, Imamura-chan? Are you doing anything after practice?"

Hana didn't want to tear her glare off Murasakibara, but then Momoi's words registered. A look of terror washed over her face and she glanced to Momoi, "Oh shit, yes! Thank you Momoi-san!"

"Er—" Momoi blinked as Hana spun around and ran to her backpack, "Are you okay?"

"I just forgot I have to clean the bakery!" Hana blabbered as she gathered her papers, "Nūdoru! Come on boy!"

"…Bakery?" Murasakibara muttered thoughtfully. His eyes followed the speedy girl as she darted all around the gym. With his decision made, Murasakibara lumbered up behind her. Hana felt him before she saw him and wide green eyes peered over her shoulder. Hana trailed them up from his stomach to his face with a cautious look.

"Yes?" She offered suspiciously. Her nerves didn't like how close the boy was, but she figured he wouldn't do anything bad with his teammates around. _Hopefully._

"You said bakery," was all Murasakibara offered as he stared down at her, "I want to go."

Hana blinked before narrowing her eyes on him, "You can't just invite yourself."

"Yes, I can," the purple haired giant drowsed, "Hurry up."

"You—ugh!" Hana growled and forcefully slung her backpack over her shoulder, "Nūdoru, if you want your reward you better hurry!" A black blur ran by the group and out the door. Hana looked to Murasakibara and frowned, "If you're coming, come on."

Hana waved to the rest of the team and darted out the door after her dog. In the gym, Murasakibara sighed before trudging after her, _I'm only going so I can get food._ He lifted a large hand in semblance of a wave as he pushed the gym door open.

"What was that?" Kise blinked as the two-people left. Aomine echoed his sentiment silently. Even Midorima was a bit startled at the abrupt change of pace. They had been at each-others throats not even five minutes ago…

"Imamura-chan will easily accept someone," Kuroko offered, "I'm sure you've all noticed. Murasakibara-kun is taking advantage of it."

"Indeed," Akashi spoke in the following silence, "It's interesting, isn't it?"

 _Associations with all of us. She's adding more points to her favor._

* * *

 ** _Reviews_ :**

 **RockaRosalie: Thank you!**

 **Red Raspberries: I'm so glad you think that! It's a great compliment that you thought it was well written. Thank you!**

 **crystalviolet24: Ah, I love writing Kuroko so I'm glad you like his characterization. And don't feel bad about your opinion on writing Akashi! I really like it because it helped me feel better about how I wrote him. Knowing that other people found his character to be hard too really helped me out. Thank you for your comment and never feel bad for offering an opinion!**

 **Jeyamendoza: Yay! You liked Akashi! And yeah, it's so much fun writing everyone together. For such an eccentric group of people, they really do mesh well even without Hana's interaction. Thank you for all your detailed reviews, I really enjoy them!**

 **TheMusicalReader: Epp! Thank you! I'm glad that my last update made your day, I hope this one does the same!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello world. Another update has come! I'm not too happy with this, but I'm not happy with a lot of things I write. Hopefully it's not as bad as my paranoid mind is making it out to be? _Hopefully._ Also hello to new followers, favorites, and reviewers! Nice to meet you guys! And special thank you to everyone that's been around here since I started. You guys are my favs.(This has been edited by the way, not great, but better then last one. Speaking of last chapter it will probably be edited tonight so it might look different later.)  
**

 **Warnings : Bad language, violence, and mediocre editing skills**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

* * *

How to Please Your Neighborhood Giant

The sun was setting, the flowers were blooming, and people were chatting happily on their way home from work. All in all, it was beautiful outside, but Hana couldn't shake off her nerves. She was trying, honestly, but her breathing exercises weren't working. To her left, the tall boy beside her was casting a shadow over the side walk and the resulting effect was intimidating. Nūdoru had run off a while back and Hana was left to suffer in the silence alone.

Hana and Murasakibara hadn't talked much as they walked. She didn't know what to say to the boy and Murasakibara was more concerned with eating then conversing. In fact, she hadn't had this much trouble starting a conversation since her dinner with Kuroko. Talking to everyone else seemed to come naturally, _except Akashi,_ but Hana couldn't think of _anything_ that she had in common with Murasakibara.

"So," Hana ventured, "Do you like penguins?"

"…" Purple eyes trailed down to her, "Not really."

"Of course. Forgot you don't like small things."

Silence.

"Why did you even come?" Hana finally demanded, sick of the quiet atmosphere. Murasakibara shrugged above her before popping another chip into his mouth. As he chewed he crumbled the bag up and tossed it into a trashcan a few feet ahead.

"I'm hungry," the tall boy answered, "I didn't think it'd be this far of a walk though."

"It's been ten minutes."

"Too far," Hana scowled at his response, but he continued, "We should have taken the bus."

"You can always turn around, Murasakibara-san," Hana grumbled before quickening her pace. Her companion's legs were so long he kept getting ahead of her. _Stupid tall people._

"I'd just have to walk more."

"Ugh—You are so difficult," Hana growled at his back.

"You're still loud," the taller boy droned before blinking, "… what's your name anyway?"

"You don't know my name?!"

"Should I?"

 _Well, he has a point._ Hana paused, "I guess not. This is the first time we've talked."

"I know," Murasakibara answered, "I would have remembered someone like you."

"… What does that mean?"

He flapped a large hand over his shoulder in her direction, "Someone so annoying."

 _He said what?!_ Forgetting his earlier question, Hana's feet stopped and she felt her blood rushing into her cheeks. Tightening her hands into fists, she glared at Murasakibara's back. _Do not attack. Do not attack. Attacking will be bad._

"…" Murasakibara stopped walking at the lack of footsteps and tilted his head back, "Why'd you stop?" Hana's eyes remained narrowed, but she forced her mouth not to open. A look of understanding came onto Murasakibara's face, "Oh, you're grumpy."

"Yeah," Hana hissed, "I'm pretty _grumpy._ "

Purple eyes trailed over her and watched as she bristled, "Kise-chin was right. You look like a cat."

"-what?"

"But I don't like cats," Murasakibara continued, nonchalantly watching Hana's flush spread across her face. Kise-chin said she blushed a lot too, but it wasn't that entertaining in Murasakibara's opinion. She just looked like an angry strawberry. _Hmm.. strawberries are good in desserts._

"You just don't like anything about me, do you?" Hana deadpanned. Her blush was still prominent, but most of her spontaneous anger had been stubbed out by his surprise subject change.

"Not really," Murasakibara admitted, "You tricked me. That was mean."

"But you got food out of it," Hana hedged. It didn't really matter to her if Murasakibara liked her, but it would make everything easier. _Besides, having a goliath on your side is always an advantage._

"It wasn't even that good," he sniffed, "You got it from the cafeteria, I could tell."

"…" she really shouldn't be surprised, "How?"

"I ate it," He explained as if it made total sense. _Which it didn't! Unless…_

"Are you saying you can tell where something was cooked just by eating it?"

"Yeah," Murasakibara drawled, "Their dango tastes bad. Like Sat-chin's cooking."

"Okay, who's Sat-chin?" Hana probed curiously.

"Pink hair," Murasakibara pulled out another snack from his, _never-ending,_ pocket, "The one that watches Mine-chin."

"Momoi-san?" Hana questioned and at his resulting nod, continued, "She can't cook, huh?"

That question caused the most reaction that Hana had seen all day. His face twisted up into a grimace, "No, it's terrible," he stared at her, "Can you cook?"

"Probably just as well as anyone else," Hana admitted honestly, "I can't cook rice though."

"…" Murasakibara almost appeared shocked, "Even Sat-chin can do that."

"Don't look so surprised!" Hana defended and folded her hands over her chest, "I can't get the water part down. Either I add too much or not enough."

"That sounds stupid."

"You sound stupid," Hana countered childishly _._

"You're stupid," Murasakibara had turned around and was frowning down at her.

Hana stepped up into his face and snarled back, "Not as stupid as you, el estupido."

"I still want to crush you," He came closer and stood above her. His body blocked out the sunset, but Hana would never admit how terrifying the image was.

With her ego now in control of her actions, she smirked back at him, "Yeah, well do it!"

Murasakibara took another step toward her and Hana was left to stare up from his chest. His eyes had lost their lazy edge and now angled threateningly. _He's much bigger from this angle…_ Hana swallowed her fear and snarled up at him. In return to his macho gesture, she jabbed him in the stomach with her finger.

By all accounts it was meant to further rile him up; but it seemed Murasakibara was ticklish.

The large boy flinched backward at her poke and Hana barely avoided his jerking arm. Wide green eyes stared up at him in astonishment from a slack jawed face. Hana couldn't believe it, _honestly who would have thought_?

"Don't do that," Murasakibara ordered as he glared at her.

"You're ticklish," Hana was still gaping up at him and he jerked.

"No, I'm not."

"You are!"

"I'm not," He growled as Hana started to step closer, "Go away."

"I'm not going to do anything bad!" Hana promised. This kind of information could be vital! She continued, "I just want to see if you really are!"

"No," In an act of stupidity, Hana took another step closer, only to be stopped by a massive hand landing on her head. Gulping her surprised scream, Hana slowly trailed her eyes up to Murasakibara's face. The giant boy looked very, _very_ unhappy. With narrowed eyes, he spoke again, "No."

Nervously, Hana brought a hand up to his and tried to push it off. It didn't budge and she fidgeted in his hold, "Okay, uhm, I promise I won't do that again."

"Good," he released her head then spontaneously patted it, "Kuro-chin would be mad if I crushed you."

"…Well that's good to know," Hana tried not to get offended at the demeaning gesture. Murasakibara watched her for a second before continuing forward.

His voice echoed back to her, "You're too slow."

"… I just can't do anything right, can I?"

"Not really," Murasakibara drawled up ahead, "but if this food is any good, I'll forgive you."

"Forgive me for what?!"

"Being annoying."

"Ugh, you—"

"Hurry up."

"Murasakibara-san!"

* * *

When they finally arrived, Hana didn't blink at the sight of Nūdoru sitting in front of her father's shop. Somehow the dog just knew _everything._ It was kind of freaky to be honest, but she figured she'd been watching too many horror movies lately.

Her dog's large body was resting against the door when he heard Hana and Murasakibara walk up. Jumping to attention, Nūdoru bounced down to her. At least, that's what Hana had assumed he was doing, but the dog ignored her and bounced right toward Murasakibara.

As the large paws landed on his waist, Murasakibara blinked down at the dog, "What are you doing?"

Nūdoru did nothing but stick out his tongue. To the side, Hana watched the interaction warily. _Hopefully, Murasakibara likes dogs too…_ As if he heard her thoughts, Murasakibara reached a hand out and patted the dog on the head. That action was the start of the chain reaction.

Apparently, Nūdoru liked equally large humans. As soon as Murasakibara removed his hand, Nūdoru fell to all fours and began to bounce around the tall teen. Except, it wasn't a tiny bounce. It was like watching a kangaroo on cocaine. Judging by the widening of his purple eyes, Murasakibara was as startled as Hana.

"Nūdoru," Hana cautioned after a practically high jump, "Calm down boy."

Her dog didn't listen.

"Down," Murasakibara ordered and Nūdoru fell to his butt in front of the teen. His large tongue lolled out of his mouth in happiness and Hana felt a tinge of betrayal. _My dog has turned against me and to Murasakibara, no less._ Meanwhile, Murasakibara had started to pet Nūdoru on the head and the dog's tail was thumping happily, "Good boy."

"…Uhm," Hana offered in bewilderment as she watched them bond, "I'm going to go inside… Are you coming?"

The purple haired boy didn't reply, but he did lift himself to full height and turn toward her. Hana took this as agreement and turned back toward the door. Releasing a sigh to prepare herself, she turned the knob. The door opened with a creak and Hana was assaulted by the smell of vanilla.

The brightly lit bakery greeted her with its glory. Behind her, she heard Murasakibara pause and figured he could see what she did. With the two humans distracted, Nūdoru darted in behind them and retreated to his doggy bed.

The store was positively eye catching, she'd give her father that. The walls were painted an obnoxious yellow and there were no chairs. Just _beanbags._ Not to mention the mishmash of tables that decorated the walls; with each one painted a different color of the rainbow. In the back the display case was still filled to the brim and Hana could hear her father and another cook bustling around in the back.

"Dad," Hana raised her voice, "I'm here and I brought a friend." She certainly did not flinch at referring to Murasakibara as a friend.

A bang caused Hana to roll her eyes as her father replied, "Coming!"

To her left, Murasakibara was eyeing the strange bakery. He'd never seen one so oddly decorated and it smelled weird. Like burnt sugar… _maybe I shouldn't have come._ Purple eyebrows furrowed as he listened to the movement of someone in the kitchen and a short man in an orange apron appeared moments later.

"Honey!" The short man exclaimed and Murasakibara watched as he embraced the girl in a hug, "I'm so glad to see you. You see we had an explosion a few minutes ago-"

"And you want me to clean it," the girl deadpanned. As he watched, Murasakibara belatedly realized that she never told him her name.

"That was our agreement," Her father nodded before looking over at Murasakibara, "And who's this?"

"Murasakibara Atushi," the purple headed boy offered. The girl's father titled his head a bit then nodded.

"You did good, Hana. He'll be able to reach the ceiling."

"…You got it on the ceiling?!"

Cataloging the girls name for a later date, Murasakibara looked past the man to the displayed cupcakes. They looked just as weird as the bakery itself. Each one was a different color and a few in the back were several colors at once. At least the purple one looked edible.

Blinking back into their conversation, Murasakibara realized that the man was talking to him. Her father's eyebrows were raised and he repeated himself, "I was just introducing myself, Murasakibara-san. I'm Imamura Heiji."

Murasakibara didn't really know what to do; he wasn't good with parents. Luckily, Hana caught on to his uneasiness and stole the conversation back, "So who's here?"

"That new guy. What's his name," her father snapped his fingers, "Don't remember right now. Anyway, we'll be heading home now that you're here to clean up."

"Or," Hana began slyly, "You could stay and help. More hands the better, right?"

"Nope," her father smiled with way too many teeth, "You're on your own. Don't mess everything up too bad. Hey! New guy! We're done."

"My name is Hatsu Tetsunori," a voice called back from the kitchen before a disgruntled looking young man walked out. His face and clothing were covered in pink icing and Hana had a feeling he was regretting taking the job offer. Coming to stand beside her father, the new guy nodded toward Hana and Murasakibara, "Hello."

"Hi," Hana echoed before shooting her dad a disapproving look, "Be nice to your employees."

"I am," Her father smiled teasingly, "But hey, seriously be careful kid. I'll pick dinner up on the way home, so don't be late."

"Yes sir," Hana agreed then nodded to the new guy, "Bye."

"Have fun, honey! And Murasakibara-san? Don't let my daughter be too mean to you."

They walked out the door after Murasakibara offered a silent nod of agreement. Turning away from the door, his head perked up when he heard Imamura complaining behind him, "You aren't supposed to leave your daughter alone… hell was he thinking… murder and death…"

"This place is weird," Murasakibara stated. It was the only description he could come up with.

"I know," Hana sighed out in dismay as her cheeks tinted, "Sorry."

He gave her a side glance before walking toward the cupcakes, "Can I eat those?"

"Uhm, sure. You don't mean all of them, right?" Hana raised an eyebrow at his back, but he ignored her in favor of the food. As he went to scan the desserts Hana made her way to the kitchen with a shrug. _Murasakibara is a big boy, he can handle himself. Heh, big boy._

Still chuckling to herself, Hana pushed the kitchen door open and her mouth dropped. Seconds later a distressed moan echoed throughout the building.

Yep, she knew it would be bad. But damn, she'd been hoping it wouldn't be this bad. Her father had been correct in his description of an explosion. There was cake batter on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Hana let out a whine before making her way to the closet. _I'm going to need a lot of cleaner. Lots and lots of cleaner…_

Grabbing a mop and some gloves, Hana dragged them into the middle of the messy kitchen. Her brow furrowed in determination and she slipped the plastic gloves on with a pop. Brandishing her mop like a weapon, Hana slapped it onto the floor with a _smack._ _Let the scrubbing begin!_

Thirty minutes later, Hana had successfully cleaned the cabinets and the floor. All that was left was the ceiling. _Hell yeah, I deserve a break._ Leaning her mop against the wall, Hana stretched her arms above her head. A brief thought of the wayward Murasakibara had her venturing back out to the main room.

The sight that greeted her was interesting, to say the least.

Murasakibara was resting on the floor in front of the display case with several cupcake wrappers spread around him. In his hand was a yellow cupcake and he was eyeing it cautiously. Hearing Hana's arrival, his wary eyes turned onto her, "What flavor is this?"

"Either vanilla or lemon," Hana replied as she examined the cupcake, "Does it have sprinkles?"

"Yes," Murasakibara answered.

"Then it's probably vanilla," Hana shrugged as she leaned against the door frame, "I'm not sure. He changes them up sometimes."

"…They're weird flavors."

"Yeah, did you try the purple one?"

"It was gross," was Murasakibara's only comment.

"I bet. It was eggplant."

The boy let out a derisive sigh from his position on the floor, "Vegetables."

"Vegetables," Hana parroted with an ill hidden smirk. The boy reminded her of a child and it was almost endearing. Except, "Please don't throw up. I'm not cleaning that."

"I won't," Murasakibara drawled before peeling the wrapper off the yellow cupcake and taking a bite, "It's vanilla."

"Well, now you know which ones are safe to eat," she glanced to the display case again, "The blue ones are normally chocolate."

"Hmm," he hummed as he chewed. Purple eyes blinked up at her in speculation, "I still don't like you."

"…Gah! I give up!" Throwing her hands in the air, Hana turned away from him. _Forget endearing. More like infuriating!_ Shoving the door open and grabbing her mop, she began to grumble, "Not even going to try. Absolutely pointless!"

Huffing out of her nose, Hana glared up at the ceiling. She couldn't reach it, but like hell that was going to stop her especially in her current mood. Green eyes flicked over to the cabinets and Hana raised a singular eyebrow. With stubbornness passed down from generations, Hana made her way to the white cabinets.

Throwing one foot up and then the other, Hana stood proudly on top of the counter with her mop in hand. Slinging the mop to the ceiling, she smirked, "Doesn't like short girls, huh? Well now I'm just as tall!"

And so, she began with a fury.

Meanwhile, Murasakibara had finished off the last of the chocolate cupcakes and he was bored. He wanted a nap, but the annoying girl had wandered off. Despite his laziness and general rudeness, he knew his manners and it would be rude to leave without informing her. Climbing to his knees, Murasakibara stretched his arms above his head and stood.

A glance around showed no sign of her and he let out a long-winded sigh. _Everything about her is so troublesome…_

Gradually making his way to the kitchen, Murasakibara pushed open the swinging door only to pause at the view. The girl was standing on the counter top with one leg dangling precariously over the edge as she scrubbed the ceiling with a dripping mop. A glance toward the floor showed a large puddle of water that had formed from the drippings.

Murasakibara pursed his lips as he tried to remember her name, "… Mura-chin?"

"What?" Hana tossed over her shoulder as she worked to keep her balance, "Who's Mura-chin?"

"You," Murasakibara answered slowly. He wasn't one to worry, but that looked dangerous.

"Don't call me that," She swiped the mop against the ceiling roughly. Hana had worked most of her irritation out, but a few dredges remained.

"Imamura-chin's too long," he replied and stepped further into the kitchen. During the commotion of watching the strange girl, Murasakibara had spied a tub of icing and it was calling his name.

Snorting at his explanation, Hana retorted, "Mura-chin sounds too much like your name. It's weird."

"Ima-chin sounds silly," he cracked the tub of icing open and turned back to watch the girl. Both feet were now on the counter, but she was balancing against the wall with an arm to reach the center of the ceiling. Scooping some icing out with his finger, he spoke, "You're going to fall."

"I'm fine," Hana denied then glanced over at the giant in alarm, "What are you eating?"

"Hmm…" Murasakibara licked his finger, "Strawberry icing."

"Don't eat that!" her voice came out frantically. _That's the icing for the wedding cake!_

He blinked at her order before scooping out another bit of icing, "I already did."

"Murasakibara-san!" Hana tried to straighten herself, but her body wasn't cooperating and she had to slowly push herself backwards, "I'm serious! Don't eat that!"

"But I already did," the tall boy repeated unashamed. He continued to scoop out icing, much to Hana's dismay. Opening her mouth to shout at him, Hana turned her body to face him. Placing her hands on her waist, she glared at him.

Unfortunately, by doing so, Hana let go of the wall that was keeping her balanced. A short curse was all she could manage before her body tilted sideways. The fall was too fast for her to comprehend and the only thing she noticed was that the ground was getting much closer than it should.

An arm came across her waist, catching her and subsequently pushing the air out of her lungs. Coughing, Hana looked up toward Murasakibara who had caught her. His purple eyes remained unconcerned, but his eyebrows were raised, "I told you so."

Her eyes widened as she stared up at him, _he caught me? The hell?_ She could feel her mouth gaping and forced herself to respond, "Er…Thank you, Murasakibara-san."

"Uh-huh," the giant hummed as he picked Hana up and stood her on her feet. She tried not to feel too terrified by how _effortlessly_ he did it. Turning away from her, Murasakibara droned, "You're clumsy."

"…I've heard," Hana gritted her teeth to help her remain polite; he did just save her after all. Speaking of, "How'd you get over here so fast?"

Murasakibara sighed as he went to retrieve the container of icing, "It was easy," he twisted his head over his shoulder only to pause, "Uh oh."

"Uh oh?" Hana mimicked while bending forward to pick up her mop. _I've made an even bigger mess… Water evaporates, right?_

"You're messy."

"What?" She paused at his voice before looking down at herself. It took a moment for everything to register, but when it did Hana gawked at the strawberry icing spread across her stomach. _My shirt! Not another one!_

Holding the container in his massive hands, Murasakibara observed the girl slowly turn red. This time he had the foresight to retrieve a spoon and was sucking the icing off contemplatively. _She really looks like a strawberry now,_ he scooped more icing out and watched her in interest.

Meanwhile, Hana was in the middle of an anger fueled rant. It wasn't directed toward Murasakibara, per say. It was more directed toward fate itself for putting her in direct contact with situations like this, "What the hell have I done to deserve this? I saved a stray! Doesn't that count for good fortune or something?"

"You're red," Murasakibara finally spoke and cut off her outburst. His eyes trailed from her feet up to her face, "You look like a strawberry."

"Yeah, you mentioned that earlier," Hana complained before looking up at him, "—Stop eating that!"

"Why? It's almost all gone," the purple haired boy drawled and scooped another spoon full out.

 _What kind of logic is that?_ Hana deadpanned then sighed in defeat, "Fine! Eat it, whatever."

"Hmm… thanks Mura-chin."

"- I still don't want you to call me that."

Murasakibara shrugged before straightening up and walking toward her, "I'm leaving. I'm going to take this, okay?"

"I don't think my approval matters much," her tone was sarcastic, "Just give me the container back later."

"Mmkay," he grabbed the handle of the door knob before looking back at her one last time, "You smell like strawberries too."

Without her control, Hana's eyebrows rose in confusion, "I'm sorry?" _Was that a complaint?_

"It's okay," the door was pushed open and Murasakibara's words echoed behind him, "I like strawberries."

The door slammed shut and Hana was left gaping in the kitchen. One second passed, then another. A whole minute later and Hana finally threw her hands up in the air in resignation, _I don't understand any of them!_

Stomping toward the front of her father's store, Hana looked toward Nūdoru's resting spot. His head was lifted and tilted at her in confusion. Watery blind eyes blinked as he listened to her pace back and forth. With a sigh, he rested his head back on his paws. He certainly picked a weird human to adopt.

Taking a break, Hana grumbled to Nūdoru as she locked the door, "I hate boys. I've been compared to animals, called an idiot, ordered around, threatened, and now I'm a _strawberry!_ What does that even mean!"

Nūdoru huffed and Hana took it as permission to continue, "Crazy ass miracles. I should just move to a new country; France sounds good right, Nūdoru? They have pastries and shit. Pretty poodles too."

Taking a deep breath, Hana looked back to Nūdoru who was watching her blankly, "And I'm talking to a dog," her face fell, "Great."

 _Woof._

"…Don't be a jerk, Nūdoru."

* * *

Collapsing in her seat with a groan, Hana buried her head into her arms. She just wanted a nap. A very long nap surrounded by fluffy pillows and warm blankets. Letting a wistful sigh out at the thought, Hana smiled dreamily. _I could hire beautiful men to bring me food in bed. Oh, that would be the life…_

Beside her Kuroko quirked an eyebrow, "Hello to you too, Imamura-chan."

"I'm so tired, Kuroko-kun," she mumbled sleepily without turning to look at her friend, "Do you have any coffee?"

"I'm afraid not. Don't you usually bring your own?"

"I drank it all," Hana whined out before burying her head further, "Do you think you could share your ghostly thing so I can take a nap?"

"It doesn't work that way, I'm sorry Imamura-chan," Hana didn't have to see him to know he was amused. His voice was tinged with curiosity when he spoke again, "Why are you so tired?"

"I had to clean the kitchen," she grumbled into the desk, "And Murasakibara-san ate all this icing, so I had to make it again."

"You shouldn't have let him do that," Kuroko reprimanded.

"Easier said than done," she scoffed. In the sanctuary of her arms, Hana heard Kuramoto-sensei bustle inside and sighed. Today was not a math day. As he called roll, Hana tucked her face into her elbow and closed her eyes with a smile, _no one will care if I sleep._

She was just drifting off when she felt a gentle tug on her ponytail. With a moan, she shook her head softly in an attempt for the annoyance to go away. Another few minutes passed. Then her ponytail was tugged again. Hana scowled into her arm, _I swear If that's Kuroko I'm going to slap him._ It happened again.

"Kuroko-kun," Hana growled under her breath. A huff of air came from her friend and Hana blinked her eyes open. Turning her head toward Kuroko, she scowled at him, "Stop that."

"You shouldn't sleep in class, Imamura-chan," Kuroko responded neutrally, but dammit, Hana knew he was laughing inside. Before getting to know Kuroko, she would have never thought he had a mischievous side.

In an act of retribution, Hana swatted her hand out at him. She hadn't been trying to hurt him or anything, so Kuroko was easily able to avoid it. Giving him a glare, Hana was about to curl back up into hibernation when Kuramoto-sensei noticed her.

"Great, you're awake Imamura-san," her teacher ignored Hana's dismayed whine, "We were just getting started on lesson two; problems one through twenty."

Forcing herself to sit up, Hana grabbed her textbook and flipped it open. The math problems that greeted her twisted into gibberish right before her eyes. _So many letters… So many numbers… I give up._ Her face hit her math book with a soft thump. She heard Kuramoto-sensei chastising her in the background, but Hana couldn't force herself to care.

Her body remained silent until a soft snore crawled out of her mouth moments later. Beside her, Kuroko watched with a microscopic smile, "Sleep well, Imamura-chan."

About forty-five minutes later, Hana was awoken by tapping on her head. She let out a moan before stretching her arms forward. That nap had successfully gifted her with more energy and bright green eyes blinked up at Kuroko, "Hey, Kuroko-kun."

"You slept through the whole period," Kuroko informed her, "Sensei wasn't happy."

"…Shit. I feel so much better though," she stretched her arm down to lift her backpack off its hook, "Aren't you going to be late?"

"I have fifteen minutes before I'm needed. Would you mind if I walked you to your own practice?"

Hana wasn't awake enough to decode the implications of that statement, so settling for a neutral response, she accepted, "That'd be great, thanks."

Kuroko waited patiently as she got her stuff together, with blue eyes watching her every movement for something Hana wasn't aware of. She didn't think she'd ever get used to that and the feeling it brought. It made her want to blush and at the same time run _very_ far away. Repressing her tremble, Hana stood up and blinked at him, "Ready?"

Nodding, Kuroko made his way to the door with her. Because Hana was a few inches ahead of him, she pulled the door open for him. Hana looked out toward the hallway after giving Kuroko a cheerful smile and waited for him to pass. Because of her attention being elsewhere, she missed Kuroko's pause at the odd gesture.

"Thank you," Kuroko nodded his head toward her as Hana shut the door behind them, "Although I would have been able to do it myself."

"Eh," Hana shrugged as they began to walk instep together, "I got there first. 'Sides it's just a door."

Releasing a silent sigh, Kuroko shook his head softly, "Alright, Imamura-chan. I wanted to ask you about your time with Murasakibara-kun yesterday; how was it?"

"It was alright," Hana tugged her lip into her mouth thoughtfully, "Okay, it was a little weird. He met my dad; not sure how I feel about that."

"I hope he remained polite?"

"Oh yeah, no worries about that. They didn't talk much," Hana explained, "I just don't introduce my friends to my family often, is all."

"That's understandable," Kuroko paused to sort out his thoughts, "Did you and Murasakibara-kun get along?"

"Now, that is the million-dollar question," she remarked dryly and stepped out of the way of an incoming student, "We argued a lot. I may have called him stupid too… Did you know he was ticklish?"

Kuroko blinked in disbelief, "No, I did not. How did you discover that?"

"Uhm," Hana blushed at how foolish she was about to sound, "He threatened to crush me… And I may have assaulted him in retaliation."

"And by assault you mean?"

With a huff, Hana grumbled and twisted her head toward the wall, "I jabbed him with my finger."

"So, you poked him?" Kuroko tried to clarify. The resulting mental image was comical as he imagined Imamura-chan's tiny form poking into an enraged Murasakibara-kun. His lips twitched up at the thought.

"Yes, technically I poked him. But it doesn't sound cool and badass that way," she pouted at the description. Green eyes glanced toward her companion and Hana heaved a sigh at his amusement, _I bet he keeps me around solely for his entertainment._

"Considering his size, I believe many would still find it impressive," he tried to console her, "It sounds like you two had an interesting time together."

"Yeah, other than him eating all the cupcakes and icing," Hana rolled her eyes at the memory, "Speaking of that, please ask him about the container he took home with him. I want it back."

The two rounded a corner and Kuroko side eyed her, "I'm sure he appreciated it."

"Eh, it was a thank you gift," she admitted with a soft shrug, "I fell off the counter and he caught me. Figured he deserved it."

"…You fell off the counter? Imamura-chan you should be more careful."

"It's all good. No harm, no foul. Right?"

"Not particularly," Kuroko admitted with raised brows. He swiftly dodged a person who didn't notice him before turning back to Imamura-chan, "I'm glad you two got along."

"…" coughing guilty, Hana sped forward, "Yeah, that's the word."

"You did get along, correct?"

"He called me a strawberry, if that means anything?"

Despite not having Kuroko in her line of sight, she could feel his blank faced stare, "I'm not sure."

Ducking under a random boy's raised arm, she shot him a rueful glance and chuckled self-consciously, "I don't know either. Why am I even talking to you about this?"

"Well, I did ask," he admitted, "Even though it's left me with more questions than answers."

The conversation petered out as the duo finally reached the reserve gym entrance. Tilting her head and offering Kuroko a small grin, Hana spoke, "Sorry about that then; I didn't mean to confuse you. Anyway, it seems this is where I leave you."

"It seems so," Kuroko paused and eyed the door behind her thoughtfully, "I had one more question to ask you, if you don't mind waiting a few more minutes."

"Yeah, sure," Hana answered and took her hand off the door handle. Turning her body to face him, she was startled by his assessing look. Catching onto her surprise, Kuroko tilted the side of his mouth up.

"If you aren't busy this weekend would you like to come with me to the new burger shop? Our last outing didn't quite go as planned and I've been meaning to make it up to you."

Her mouth opened. Then it closed. It opened one more time and Hana let out a noise that strongly resembled a strangled cat, "-agh?"

"Imamura-chan?" Kuroko probed in amusement. She continued to flounder around for a moment and a slow blush had worked its way up her neck. "I'm sorry if I've startl-"

Out of nowhere, the door behind her burst open and Hana was jolted forward by two pairs of muscular arms wrapping around her shoulders. She coughed at the surprise before looking to her left and right in astonishment. As her eyes registered who was next to her, she felt her mouth tug into a scowl. _Those sneaky little brats…_

"Hana-chan! I was wondering when you'd get here!" _Uoya…_

"Oh, thank god you're back! Never leave us again!" _Kitano…_

"Oh hey, Kuroko-san," Uoya offered the first-string player a wide smile, "Thanks for walking Hana-chan here!"

"It's was no problem," Kuroko blinked at the unexpected appearances. Despite having met Uoya-san before he didn't remember the sixth year having such a sharp smile. Not to mention the other boy who was shooting Kuroko a smug smirk. A light blue eyebrow raised as the situation sank in.

"We never officially met, have we?" Kitano offered, "Kitano Toki! Pleasure to meet you."

In the background, Uoya had wrapped his arms around the tops of Hana's shoulders and was smiling in a pleasant expression. Well, it would have been pleasant if he didn't have a hand covering Hana's mouth as she struggled against his unexpected assault. The sixth year's smile became a grimace as Hana's foot connected to his knee.

Turning back to Kitano, Kuroko bowed his head a bit, "Nice to meet you Kitano-san, I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Well," the bald boy continued, "Thanks for walking _our_ manager to _our_ practice! We _all_ really appreciate it!"

Kuroko blinked slowly at the obvious intent of the statement, "As I said, it was no problem."

"Great!" Uoya chimed in from the background as he avoided Hana's swinging limbs, "We should probably get to practice now! See ya' later, Kuroko-san!" And with that, Uoya dragged a scrambling Hana into the double doors behind them. The sound of scuffling broke out as the doors closed.

Kitano and Kuroko watched the doors warily, both expecting Hana to appear at any moment. When it remained clear for a few seconds, Kitano turned back to Kuroko without his faux smiling expression, "I don't know you, Kuroko-san, but don't borrow _our_ manager again. Okay?"

"…" Raising his eyebrows at the threatening tone, Kuroko responded calmly, "I believe that should be Imamura-chan's choice, shouldn't it?"

"If she actually wanted to go, we'd know. We are her team after all."

"And we are her friends," the phantom player argued, "I understand you are protective of Imamura-chan, but there is no reason for hostility."

Scoffing, Kitano rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, just keep your friendship off the court. Hana is our manager, our friend, and our responsibility."

Kuroko tilted his head innocently and, _in the words of Imamura-chan_ , decided to be a little shit, "For now."

"You—" Kitano struggled to find words as his mouth pursed together in anger, "Don't talk like you—"

One of the gym doors opened and cut Kitano's retort off. A messy tangle of black hair stuck itself out and Hana scowled at Kitano, "Stop with the over protective brother act! You're such a dumbass," her focus turned to Kuroko, "And yes, Kuroko-kun, I'd like to hang out this weekend."

"Hana! No-" Narrowed green eyes shut Kitano up and the second string player formed an impressive pout. Meanwhile, Kuroko felt a sense of smug satisfaction. It wasn't overwhelming and it was practically unnoticeable, but it was there.

"I'll get your number from Momoi-san," Kuroko offered in the silence, "If that's alright with you Imamura-chan?"

"Yeah, yeah it's fine. Just make sure no one else gets it," Hana waved a hand before she turned her glare back onto Kitano, "Now get your ass in there! You all have a lot of explaining to do; the hell was that!? Where did you get a damn net!"

Shooting Kuroko one last glare, Kitano sulked into the gym. Hana slammed the doors behind him and Kuroko was left to stare at the wooden venire of the door. A tiny twitch of the lips was all he offered before turning around and making his way to his own practice. _That went much better than expected._

* * *

Second String Practice- Reserve Gymnasium

Hana felt like an animal on display in the zoo. Other than Futabatei and Coach, every one of her teammates was staring at her. Even Uoya, who was sitting on the bench with an icepack, was watching her. She took a deep breath, "What the hell was that?"

Some of the more skittish teammates backed away at her tone, but the braver ones puffed their chests out in preparation. With a blank face, Hana raised an eyebrow at the sight, _they look like a bunch of apes._ Kitano was the one to step forward even with his newly developed limp.

"You've got to look at it from our point of view, Hana," Kitano began with a nervous scratch to the head, "I mean… You hated first string and suddenly Momoi-san is in here saying you had to go to their practice. It seemed fishy."

A chorus of agreements came from the rest of her team and Hana ran a weary hand down her face, _you bunch of idiotic, lovable, jack-asses._ Letting her shoulders lose their tension, Hana raised her voice to reach everyone, "I get it. You guys were worried. Thank you for that, but please do not do that again. Kuroko-kun was just inviting me to hang out with him this weekend. It's not a big deal."

"But," a voice came from the back, "He's a boy!"

"Yeah! It's like a date!"

"You can't go, manager-chan!"

This time, Hana brought two hands up to cover her eyes and groaned, "You're all boys! I hang out with you all the time!"

"But- But- he asked you out!"

"He can't take your innocence!"

"Oh no," Uoya pressed the ice pack harder to his head, "Don't say that!"

Feeling her eye begin to twitch, Hana glared at the grouping of boys, "He isn't going to take my _innocence,"_ her voice was a hiss, "And technically, if this was a date, it would be our second one."

"What!" echoed around the gym simultaneously and Hana flinched away from the sound. Every face of her teammates was painted into various shocked expressions, including Uoya's. _Ah, that's right, I never told him about that…_

"Er," Hana didn't know how this had turned around on herself, "It was like a month ago, after one of their games."

"…" the silence spread across the gym like wildfire and Hana turned desperate eyes onto Futabatei. The captain just raised a singular eyebrow before shaking his head; this was all up to her. In the background, coach was lounging in his chair with his camera phone recording the event. This would be something interesting to talk about at the next coaches get together.

"Guys," Hana tilted her head up to the ceiling and whined, "I do not need eleven older brothers."

"Technically," Uoya cut in, "three of us are younger then you."

"… That doesn't make it _any_ better, Uoya-kun," Hana deadpanned.

"Just trying to cut the tension," he shrugged sheepishly, "Sorry."

The silence continued and Hana risked looking at the pouting males. Kitano was kicking his foot against with ground, Iseri had his arms folded across his chest and was looking toward the wall, Kajiwara was leaning against the hoop with raised eyebrows, Saiki was scribbling on his homework angrily, and the three sixth years all wore betrayed expressions.

"You guys," Hana whined again as she felt the pull on her heart strings, "Don't do this to me."

A hand landed on her shoulder and Hana transferred her eyes up to Futabatei. Her captain began to speak, "I think we should start practice, yes?"

"I could kiss you-"

"No! No boys!"

"…" Hana deadpanned at the synchronized declaration before turning back to the team, "It's Futabatei-san! He doesn't count!"

"No boys," they stated together, but in a firmer tone. In the background, Coach broke into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as he held his cellphone to his stomach.

"Hey, captain?" Hana turned to Futabatei with a mischievous grin and a devious plan, "Isn't this a form of mutiny? How many laps is that?"

"Hm," Futabatei's grey eyes shined in unstated mirth, "Twenty."

As they realized the situation they entered, the boy's faces paled rapidly and Hana let a slow chuckle slip past her lips, "Better run boys! I still have to pay you back for that damn net!"

"Begin," Futabatei stated and Hana commenced her chase. The screams that followed were purely coincidental.

The evidence provided by Coach's video proved otherwise.

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **Ichigo0-0Rose** **: Awh yay! Thank you for your support!**

 **Crystalviolet24** **: I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter! And look, second string teammates! Yay! Thank you for your support and your encouragement. It really means a lot to me knowing I have such encouraging reviewers.**

 **ADDBaby** **: Happy whale noises are the best noises. Thank you! And yes, Nūdoru is the bomb. I love writing him. AND THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT. I ACED THAT TERM PAPER LIKE NO ONES BUSINESS.**

 **Guest** **: Hello nameless person! I'm glad you liked last chapter and Uoya's rivalry with Midorima! Thank you for reviewing!**

 **JeyaMendoza** **: I'm so happy that everyone is saying last chapter was funny, it makes my day. Also, I'm glad you liked Akashi's note! You are my go to Akashi helper. Thank you for your wonderful reviews and I hope this chapter makes you just as happy!**

 **Red Raspberries** **: Thank you for favoriting also! I'm glad you like Hana's character too. I was actually worried she might be a bit too controversial with all the cute OC's out there. But I'm glad to hear you support, thank you!**

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 **AngelicHallows** **: I'm glad you loved it and thank you for your honest opinion on my grammar mistakes. Thank you for being so understanding, too!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm so tired my eyes are sticking to my eye sockets. This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I finished it and it was _14,000!_ words. So I've split it into two and well, here's the first half. On a sad note, this chapter and the next are probably going to be the only happy ones before everything goes south side. Just a friendly heads up. Also! Thank! You! Guys! You! All! Rock! Enjoy my friends!  
**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

 _ **Warnings :**_ **bad language, violence, and craptastic editing skills _(I'm so tired help)_**

* * *

 _Before Summer Break  
_

 _May 30_ _th_

The weekend had come quickly.

Meeting Kuroko at the new burger shop had been _interesting_. Despite insisting to her father that Kuroko was just a friend, her dad still teased her the whole ride there and he'd dropped her off with a cheery, _have fun!_

Walking into the building had been weird too. Like, was there a conduct for something like this? Not to mention she couldn't even _find_ Kuroko! The place wasn't that crowded, so either the boy wasn't here yet or he was being a jerk and using his invisibility power. Spending a few minutes standing awkwardly at the door, Kuroko finally came to retrieve her.

There in lied the next problem, conversation. Unlike their last outing, Kuroko and Hana knew each other now, so the conversation wasn't filled with as many awkward silences. But that didn't mean they knew _what_ to talk about. After the customary greetings, the two had been stuck in a stream of meaningless small talk.

A few minutes of meaningless chatter later, they'd already ordered and were now in the process of eating. Kuroko was sucking on a milkshake across from her. Finishing for the moment, he questioned, "How are your studies?"

"My studies," Hana deadpanned at him, burger hanging halfway to her mouth, "What are we going to talk about next? The weather?"

"It is a bit hot out," Kuroko admitted.

"… That was a rhetorical question."

Her friend remained silent at her sarcasm and Hana took the time to bite into her burger. She had just closed her mouth when it was gone _._ Green eyes blinked at the empty air in front of her and her hands were still holding the now _vanished_ burger. Trailing a path up from her hands, Hana stared at Kuroko.

"Did you just?" her tone was confused, "What?"

His head tilted as he sipped on his milkshake, the perfect picture of innocence. _Except that's my goddamn burger on his plate_. His voice was casual when he spoke, "I'm sorry?"

Furrowing her eyebrows, Hana stared at her burger, "That's mine."

"Oh," Kuroko looked down at her food, "I thought that would be a good way to initiate a conversation."

"By holding my dinner hostage?" Hana deadpanned.

"It's working, is it not?"

"…" Yes, it was working, but Hana was not going to be outplayed. Narrowing her eyes on the phantom, Hana slithered a hand across to table and speedily grabbed his milkshake. Her resulting smile was challenging, "Still working?"

A blue eyebrow rose, "It would appear so. Would you please return my milkshake, Imamura-chan?"

"You are absolutely no fun," still holding the drink in her hands, Hana pouted at him, "You never give a reaction! Someone could probably kidnap you and you'd just apologize for the inconvenience."

"No, I would likely attempt to escape," Kuroko eyed his wayward drink, "Can I please—"

"Oh!" Hana's eyes lit up at his words, "That's right, the ghost thing! If you were ever kidnapped, you could like _swoosh_ out of there. Wait, could you?" During her questioning, Hana had leaned forward and was attempting to reach the straw to her soda, "Because that would be awesome. You could be a bank robber or something!"

"You're about to drink my—"

"Blegh," that wasn't the fizzy goodness she'd been looking for. _Vanilla… Oh shit!_ Hana's eyes widened and she jerked the milkshake out of her mouth with a blush. Blinking at the innocent cup, Hana transferred her apologetic gaze up to Kuroko, "I'm so sorry- I'll go get you another one!"

In the commotion, Kuroko skillfully snatched his milkshake back, "There's no need, Imamura-chan."

"No, seriously, I'll pay for it…" Hana rummaged around for her wallet, "I know I had some change."

Blue eyes watched the manager as she dug through several receipts. A blush was still staining her cheeks and Kuroko ticked the side of his lips up at the muttered curses coming from her mouth. Meanwhile, Hana finally found enough money to buy him a new drink.

Her head lifted up only to pause, "Did you already go get another one? I said I'd pay for it—"

"No, I didn't," Kuroko answered before sipping his milkshake again, "There was no need."

"Wait, is that the same one?"

"It would be wasteful to throw it away."

"Gah," Hana's face met the table in mortification, "But I—just, never mind."

In the end, Kuroko never got a new drink despite Hana's protests, the earlier stolen burger was returned, and conversation started to flow naturally. They talked about everything under the moon and then some. At one point, Hana tried to convince Kuroko to take up assassination jobs as a side hobby, but he hadn't been interested.

They made plans to meet up again. Much to her team's dismay.

 _June 1_ _st_

"Imamura-chan!"

"Momoi-san?" Hana trailed off in confusion, "What are you doing… here?"

By here, Hana meant her front doorstep. She had been fixing her lunch when the door was knocked and Hana couldn't fathom who'd be at her door this early in the morning. In all honesty, she'd expect something like this from Kise; not the happy manager standing in front of her. _None of them have been to my house... Goddamn information specialist._

"I wanted to come see you. I hope you don't mind," Momoi admitted with a tiny shrug. Normally, Hana would believe her, but today there was a glint in the fellow manager's eye.

"Uhm, okay. In that case, you want to walk to school with me?" Hana rambled, "Since you're here and all."

"That'd be great, Imamura-chan!" Momoi smiled with a few too many teeth. Hana paused at the sight, _I feel like I've walked into a trap._

"Alright? Just let me go get my bag," Her voice can out in a squeak and Hana wasn't afraid to admit it. With quick feet, Hana sprinted into her house, snatched her bag, and appeared back outside. With a tiny shiver, Hana noticed Momoi was still there smiling happily.

"You ready?" Momoi questioned and Hana offered her a nod before her arm was grabbed by the first-string manager. While Hana let out a huff of surprise, Momoi just giggled before tugging her along.

The first few minutes were spent in silence until Momoi broke it.

"So, how'd your date with Testu-kun go?"

"Date?" Hana stalled as she mentally freaked the hell out, "It wasn't a date."

"Are you sure?" Momoi hedged teasingly, but Hana could hear the underlying tension in her tone. Hana knew about Momoi's crush on Kuroko. Hell, _everyone_ knew about it.

"I'm positive," Hana agreed with a nod. It really hadn't been a date, in her mind at least. Call her a romantic, but she liked for her dates to end with a kiss or two. Hana continued, "If we ever went on a date, I'd call you before I accept."

Momoi's resulting blush was almost humorous, "What! No, you don't need to do that!"

"You like him, Momoi-san," Hana offered and the grip on her arm tightened as a result, "I know that. You know that. Everyone knows that- It's not a bad thing! Don't make a sad face!" Hana sighed in relief as Momoi stopped frowning, "I just mean, if we ever went on a real date, I'd tell you."

"But," Momoi paused to gather her words, "I don't want to ask you to do that."

"Okay, you're my friend," Hana blushed as she tried to explain, "Hell, I just mean… Uhm, if we ever went on a date, I'd tell you because I wouldn't want to hurt you. I don't know! It's not like it'll happen."

Pink eyes blinked over to her in astonishment and Hana twitched. Had she said something wrong? She'd never had a friendship with a girl before, so all this was pretty new. Hana was about to apologize when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. As Hana was promptly smashed into a very large bosom, Momoi was smiling, "You're so nice, Imamura-chan! How cute!"

"Yes, thank you Momoi-san," Hana coughed, "Can you let me go?"

"Ah, sorry!" Momoi let go and stepped back bashfully.

Rubbing the back of her head, Hana looked to the sky, "It's no problem. We're okay, right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Momoi acknowledged. Now that everything was all said and done, the two girls shot each other reserved grins before continuing their walk to school.

As they walked, Hana finally asked the question that had been bugging her all morning, "Hey, Momoi-san? How'd you find out where I live?"

The other manager only gave her a grin.

 _June 4_ _th_

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, Futabatei! Happy birthday to you!" Hana joined the chorus of her teammates in the impromptu performance.

The three first years were all sitting all the floor, singing in various levels of excitement. Uoya was wearing one of those pointy birthday hats and Hana mentally noted to steal it later. Kitano and Iseri, the two second years, looked less than impressed with the confetti Hana had told them to throw. Dodging a handful of glitter thrown by Kitano, Hana looked over at the third years.

Saiki and Kajiwara were holding the cake, both looking equally annoyed about it. Hana imagined it had something to do with the candles she'd lovingly put on it. There was a total of 106; Hana counted.

Finally, the focus of tonight's excitement, Futabatei, looked _murderous._ He was sitting at the head of the table with a pink party hat on top of his head. His right hand was holding the plastic knife in a death grip and grey eyes glared at Hana. Giving her captain a shaky grin, Hana snapped another picture with the camera coach gave her.

"If those go anywhere," Futabatei spoke in a monotone, "I will not be happy."

"I promise! Not going anywhere!" Hana swore before darting away from her captain's glare. Bending under Iseri's arm, Hana popped up next to Kajiwara, "Hey blondie," Hana dodged his swatting hand,

"You've got something on your nose."

"…" Kajiwara's eyes narrowed on her, "Where?"

She poked the tip of his nose, "Right there!"

As her senior brought a hand up to check for himself, Hana let a cheery grin cover her face. Her action's caused Kajiwara to stop and eye her warily. In return, Hana lifted the hand she'd used to poke him. There was glitter, curtsey of Kitano, spread all over her hand.

Kajiwara tensed as the situation sunk in and a low growl came out of his mouth, "Hana. You better not have."

"Opps," Hana faux gasped, "Whatever have I done? But, oh my! Look at the time!"

Forcing her feet to move at the speed of light, Hana ducked under Kajiwara's attempt to grab her. Sticking her tongue out at the blondes aggravated face, she retreated to Uoya. Making her way to the table, Hana rubbed his hair before sitting down, "Hey, Uoya-kun."

"Hana-chan," Uoya didn't look away from the piece of cake in front of him, "Stop torturing everyone."

"You guys love it."

"We're all masochists."

Hana gagged at the word that came out of her _young_ friend's mouth, "Where the hell did you hear that? Do you even know what it means?!"

"Kitano-san," Uoya looked up to her and frowned, "And yes, I know what it means. Isn't it getting sexual pleasure from-"

"Kitano!" Hana shoved her hand over Uoya's mouth, "Stop influencing our progenies with your nasty mind!"

A bald head stuck appeared in the doorway of Iseri's kitchen, "What?"

Hana could scarcely hear him over the cake he'd shoved in his cheeks, but continued fussing anyway, "Why were you talking about _masochism_ with him!"

The heads of everyone over 13 years old turned to stare at Kitano in shock. Futabatei froze with a forkful of cake centimeters away from his mouth. Even Kajiwara, who was still trying to get the glitter off his face, blanched at Hana's words. For his part, Saiki did nothing more than blush and cover his eyes with a horrified hand.

Iseri, on the other hand, had gone wide eyed, "Shh! My little sister's home!"

Kitano and Hana winced in tandem. Removing her hand from Uoya's mouth, Hana turned to Iseri with apologetic eyes, "Sorry."

In the doorway, Kitano was about to repeat the process but all he could manage was a surprised, choked laugh. With everyone looking at him in disbelief, Kitano raised a hand and pointed toward Uoya, "Look at his face!"

All eyes turned toward Uoya. It was silent and you could practically _hear_ everyone's thoughts catching up to the situation. The subject himself, Uoya, was glancing between everyone with confused brown eyes. But that wasn't the funny part; the funny part was the glitter that strongly resembled a mustache and beard combo on his face. A few seconds passed before Saiki snorted and set everyone off into peals of laughter.

Still looking around in confusion, Uoya shrugged his shoulders before shoveling more cake into his mouth. It wasn't his fault everyone was so weird.

 _June 7_ _th_

A massive shadow fell over her and Hana screeched. She'd been bending down to pick up her backpack after some _jerk_ had pushed her to the side after class. Papers and pencils littered the side of the hallway and Hana was dodging the incoming feet while simultaneously trying to save her precious homework. So, when that giant shadow appeared over her shoulder, Hana had the terrifying realization that someone was about to step on her.

Crawling a few feet forward, Hana spun around to confront them, "Don't you see me! You were about to crush—Oh, hello?"

"Mura-chin," Murasakibara drawled as he stared down at her, "Why are you on the floor?"

Gesturing a hand at the mess surrounding her, Hana replied, "Some idiot made me drop all my stuff. Seriously though, I told you not to call me that."

His shoulders raised in a half-shrug, "It fits."

"No, it doesn't," Hana retorted as she snatched a rolling pencil, "Just call me Imamura, with or without the _-chin_. I don't care."

"No thanks," his purple eyes watched her crawl, "You should get up. You'll get stepped on."

"Well aware of that, thanks."

His eyes fell on a pen near his feet and Murasakibara nudged it toward her, "You're really hard to find. It was annoying."

"You were looking for me?" Hana blinked up at him in confusion, "Why?"

"I was going to give you your thing."

"…my thing? You mean the container from the bakery?" Hana gaped at him, "Murasakibara-san, that was almost a _month_ ago!"

"I forgot about it. Aka-chin had to remind me," he furrowed his eyebrows at the thought. He didn't like being ordered around, but he guessed Aka-chin was right.

Mouth forming a startled 'o', Hana crawled over to get her binder. A wayward student took that moment to walk by her and Hana scowled at how close he came to stepping on her hand, "People need to watch where they're walking. But, I guess tell Akashi-san thanks?"

"You do it," Murasakibara retorted, "I don't want to walk all the way back."

"You could just do it tomorrow- Whatever, yeah, I'll do it," Hana answered, but her thoughts betrayed her. _Nope, not doing it. Screw captain tomato._

In the meantime, Murasakibara had meandered over to the wall to rest. Mura-chin was taking too long. If he had known she would be so slow, he'd just have Kuro-chin take it too her. With a slow sigh, he gave her a small glare, "You move slowly."

"You know, I love spending time with you," Hana snarled from the floor, "I love being insulted about everything I do. It's just great."

"That's good, Mura-chin."

"… _Sarcasm!"_

They both fell into silence as Hana continued to clean up with Murasakibara letting out sighs every few seconds. Hana had finally had enough and turned toward the giant with an open mouth, ready to scold. Letting out _another_ sigh, Murasakibara turned away from the irate female just in time to notice the group of people rushing down the hall. A purple eyebrow rose as he watched them advance without pausing.

Eyeing the incoming group of people and Mura-chin who continued to ramble on the floor, Murasakibara made a split decision. With quickness he'd gathered from basketball, Murasakibara came to Hana's side and a large hand yanked the back of her uniform. The girl let out a startled screech as she hung in the air. At the same time, the group of people rushed by right where Hana had been crawling.

"Did you just," Hana gaped at him, "You just saved me?"

"Again," Murasakibara drawled and hoisted Hana higher, "You're not very smart."

"I'm plenty smart! And you can put me down now!"

Only giving Hana's dangling body a passive glance, Murasakibara began to walk away. The sound of cursing reached his ear, but he paid it no mind. His voice traveled down to Hana, "You were taking too long, Mura-chin. This way is faster."

"But I can walk!" Hana declared, "Hey, don't ignore me!"

"Mura-chin should be happy," Murasakibara responded, "This way she doesn't have to spend energy."

"I want to spend energy!" Hana flailed as she tried to get her feet to touch the ground, "This is demeaning! I feel like a doll!"

"Your too loud to be a doll. They're quiet."

"Then put me down!"

"It's okay, Mura-chin. Just stop yelling."

"Murasakibara-san! Put me do-!" Hana was cut short by Murasakibara lifting her even _higher_. Giving him a glare, Hana folded her arms across her chest and sulked. _This is so humiliating. I'll get him back for this, I swear it!_

In the sudden silence, Murasakibara looked toward her. A pleased expression graced his face at her pout, "Good, Mura-chin."

" _I_ _am not a_ _dog!"_

 _June 19_ _th_

Since her first initial meeting with Kise, Hana had come to accept the boy a tiny bit more. Keep in mind, it was a _tiny_ amount. He still teased her mercilessly and Hana threatened him on a daily basis. It was the founding base of their relationship, after all. Because of this new thought process, Hana was on the prowl for a birthday gift.

Normally, she would have said screw it and left it at that, but Kise had been so excited about it during lunch yesterday that she couldn't. As she walked through the department store, Hana twitched at the memory of Kise's, not so subtle, reminder of the date. _Are you going to bring me a present, Imamura-chan? I'll treasure it forever!_

So no, she couldn't just ignore that. Which led her to her current problem; what the hell to buy him. It was a toss-up between a shirt or some knickknack. Unfortunately, she didn't know his size or what he liked to wear outside of school. _Probably something expensive…_

Maybe an earring? Can you even buy singular earrings? Hana was debating these questions as she walked. The store was quiet and only a few mothers were browsing around with her. Walking toward the jewelry section, Hana scanned the earring selection. A pretty, gold pair caught her eyes and Hana leaned forward to examine the price. Blanching, she jumped away from the case. _That's two months of allowance!_

Frowning at the piece of over-priced metal, Hana continued to browse the jewelry section. A sparkly flash caught her eye and Hana raised an eyebrow at the simple necklace hanging off a display. It was a long necklace made of silver and only had one trinket in the shape of a tiny star. Tilting her head, she eyed the sale sign beside it. _Perfect._

The next day came quickly and Hana was now standing behind Kise like some sort of creeper. Leaning left to right, she debated the best course of action. If she was to hand it to him directly, he'd surely tease her. On the other hand, if she was to give it to him discretely, the idiot might lose it. With a huff, Hana tightened her ponytail before walking toward the target.

"Kise," she tapped him on the shoulder.

The blonde turned around with a grin, but something in his eyes didn't match up. Kise leaned a hand on his knee before smiling up at her, "Hey, Imamura-chan!"

Hana did a double take at the sight of his face. _His eye's look so tired_. With a barely noticeable frown, she questioned him, "You okay? You look worn out."

"I'm good! I had a photoshoot last night, guess I didn't get enough sleep," Kise brushed the subject off easily, "Anyway, what can I do for you?"

"Uhm, you mentioned yesterday that it was your birthday," Hana stumbled to find her wording, "Well, here!"

She shoved the necklace into his face with force. At the surprise, Kise floundered about a bit to catch the tiny piece of metal. Gold eyes blinked up at her in shock, "You got me a present?"

"Yeah, I'm a little late. Sorry about that," she refused to make eye contact with the blonde and stared at the necklace in his hand, "If you don't like it, I've got the receipt."

While she talked, Kise fingered the tiny necklace in shock, "No, I like it… Thank you Imamura-chan."

"Good!" Hana cursed the blush that was working its way up her neck, "That was a lot of work, I'd be pissed if you made me return it."

"That was really nice of you, Imamura-chan," Golden eyes flicked up to her as Kise tilted his head, "Could you help me put it on?"

"Er, I don't know," Hana stammered and took a step back, "You've got two hands, right?"

"But I can't do the clasp! My hands are too big," Kise gave her an impressive pout, "Please?"

"Damn you," she grumbled before coming to stand behind the tall boy. Shooting her a smug smile, Kise handed her the necklace. She tried to ignore how her fingers were shaking as she undid the clasp and placed it around his neck. With it finally in place, Hana was struggling to redo the clasp, "Why are these freaking things so hard?"

"They really aren't," Kise reached a hand back and laid it on top of her own. A strange noise crawled out of her mouth at the contact, but Kise ploughed on, "Your hands are shaking too much. Don't be so nervous~"

"Easy for you to say," Hana grumbled as she finally got the clasp to work, "I did it. You can take your hand back now."

Instead of taking it back, Kise squeezed her hand with his own. His head turned and golden eyes met her own, "Thanks, Imamura-chan."

"No problem," Hana echoed in a daze before her blush returned full force, "Look, I've got to go now. Happy belated birthday and all that jazz."

Kise's returning goodbye was lost in the wind as Hana sprinted away. He let a smile cross his face as he watched her leave in a huff. Without his control, his hand came up to play with the end of the necklace in thought. _Imamura-chan..._

 _June 21_ _st_

Her foot was tapping a beat on the floor and green eyes were narrowed on the red-head across from her in concentration. She didn't know what he was planning. Akashi had texted her out of out of the blue and inquired about their deal. She didn't know how he'd got her number, but her mind suspected Momoi. So, with the threat of a scary redhead, Hana ditched her normal lunch time crew and came to find Akashi.

She'd been expected a threatening location. Maybe an abandoned classroom filled with dead bodies, but instead she was sitting inside the cafeteria at an empty table _directly_ across from Akashi. That fact was more than enough to make up for the lack of location. Other than a pleasant hello when she sat down, Hana had been subjected to silence from the captain. It was starting to piss her off.

"So," Hana hedged as she bit into a carrot, "You mentioned talking about our deal? Which is still totally jacked by the way."

Akashi's lips twitched, "Your opinion has been noted. I'll admit I was a bit rash in our first discussion, hopefully we've worked out some of the tension?"

Ever since Hana's first appearance at first-string practice, she had opened herself up to communication from all teammates. This included Akashi. At first it was awkward and Hana remained terrified of the redhead and his spontaneously changing eye color. But as time passed, she realized he wasn't as petrifying as she thought. Don't get her wrong, she was still scared shitless by the guy, but maybe a tiny bit less so. The fact she hadn't seen the strange orange eye color in a while helped.

"Sure," Hana shrugged, "I don't want to run every time I see you, so there's that."

"That qualifies as improvement, I believe," Akashi gracefully lifted rice to his mouth, "I have been thinking about the deal and I had a few improvements to discuss with you."

"That doesn't sound good at all."

"Please do remember to keep your attitude in check, Imamura. Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, after all."

"Do you know how many curse words I could use to describe you?"

"It would be in your best interest to refrain."

"Whatever," Hana glowered as she poked at her food, "What are these so-called _improvements?_ "

"I would like to extend our deal to cover the range of information gathering. As it stands now, I have no use for your lying capabilities, but Momoi has informed me about your other skills."

As the end of his speech ended, Hana raised a hand to her forehead. She could feel the headache already, "Can't we just cut the deal off?"

"I'm afraid not," she hated when he got amused, it was such a pain, "I still desire your other talents, but this option would help in the meantime."

"So, you want my help against rival teams? You seriously do not need me, Akashi-san."

"I would rather not go through this argument again, Imamura. I'm simply asking if you'd be open to these new terms or not," his red eyes were piercing even in the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria. As his sentence ended, Hana raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"You're giving me a choice now?" her tone was sharp with disbelief.

Across from her, Akashi let out a gentle sigh, "You've had a choice from the beginning. While the initial confrontations between the both of us were unfortunate, you still remained able to choose."

"Bull-" Hana cut herself off at Akashi sharp look and gave him a frown, "Whatever, so now I have a choice? Help you or not?"

"In the manner of gathering information, you have a choice. The rest of our deal is solid and I will be asking for your help in the future," Akashi stated.

Letting out a sigh, Hana turned her glare away from the red-head, "I guess it's alright, then? I don't even know what this qualifies under."

"I'd like you to accompany Momoi to retrieve information. You two have different styles of analyzation and I feel like they would work well together," Akashi grabbed some more food with his chopsticks before continuing, "Feel free to use the information for the betterment of your team as well."

"That sounds… doable," Hana muttered under her breath. Giving Akashi a curious once over, she voiced her own question, "You're going about this a lot nicer than before. Why?"

"I'm regretful in the methods I choose, but I do not regret the outcome of that conversation," Akashi explained, "The matter now lies in the fact that you are not a threat to me anymore. I can express leave-way because of this and our relationship with one another."

"Our relationship?" Hana choked on the drink she'd been sipping, "The hell, Akashi-san?!"

"We've developed a friendship, have we not?" The captain's lips tipped upwards at Hana's resulting gawk.

Meanwhile, Hana was patting on her chest to stop her choking, "I- I don't know! Don't call it that!" her voice evened out, "Hell of a messed-up friendship…"

Gathering his trash together, Akashi began to stand. He looked down at Hana with a sharp smile after he rose, "You've established yourself into our grouping, Imamura. I'm surprised you are only now acknowledging the difficulties of those relationships."

"Stop calling it that!" Hana placed her hands over her eyes and groaned, "If I wasn't so scared of what you'd do in return, I'd punch you."

"Be careful with your threats," Akashi hummed as he turned around, "Retaliation wouldn't be pleasant."

As his feet led him away, Akashi smirked at the sound of a face planting into the table behind him. Without a doubt, it was Imamura. She was such a strange girl. A nuisance in the purest of forms, but at least her presence provided a source of entertainment. _But with the right training, she could prove irreplaceable._ A loud curse echoed back to his ears, _if only her mouth could be cleaned._

 _June 29_ _th_

Today's practice had been canceled due to Futabatei touring a high school that had hoped to gain his admission. In a weird way, Hana was jealous of her captain. Honestly, it was great that Futabatei was being recognized for his hard work, but Hana was a bit resentful. You see, there was no way a high school was going to scout her out. Everything about her was average and unassuming. Well, other than her personality. But what school wanted a crude mouthed teenage girl?

Kicking a stray can down the pathway, Hana frowned. Normally her future didn't bother her, what was with her today? She had her plan. She wanted to be a private detective when she grew up. It wasn't going to be the best paying job, but it fit her skills perfectly. _What other profession would need a liar and a thief?_ She thought bitterly.

Yeah, the danger rate was high. It wasn't going to be a stress-free job, but since when had any of her life been stress free? As she pouted, she walked toward the outside gates. In a fit of annoyance, she had _temporarily_ borrowed one of the school's basketballs and was on the way to the court located down the street. One might ask why she didn't just stay in the gym, but the answer was simple. She wanted to be left alone.

As she made her way into the gated courtyard, she realized her plan was for naught. There was a body lying on the ground, hands behind their head. If it had been any other person, Hana would have ignored them. Unfortunately, judging from the navy colored hair, she knew this person. Her feet stalled as she recognized Aomine. _Doesn't he have practice?_

"…Aomine-san?" Hana called out. The body on the ground did nothing at her yell. _Maybe he's asleep?_ Padding toward the body, Hana nudged him with her foot. A tan arm snaked out and grabbed her ankle making Hana scream.

"The hell, Satsuki?" Aomine muttered, "I'm taking a nap."

"I'm not Momoi-san! Let go of my ankle this instant!"

"…ugh," Aomine blinked groggy eyes open, "I only know one girl that loud and I hope it isn't her."

"If you're talking about me, sorry to say I'm right here," Hana deadpanned. The hand around her ankle still hadn't let go and she narrowed her eyes on it. The contrast of tan skin compared to her pale looked weird.

"Imamura?"

"In the flesh," Hana rolled her eyes at his lack of movement, "Wake the hell up and let go of me."

In response to her order, Aomine released her ankle. The tall boy sat up on one hand and rubbed a tired hand over his eyes. Hana watched him in bemusement. Sleepy boys were always cute, but this was Aomine. _Don't think about it. You will not acknowledge the adorableness._ Letting out a yawn, Aomine looked to her, "What time is it?"

"School got out like forty-five minutes ago. Didn't you have practice?"

Aomine raised his arms above his head in a stretch, "I didn't go. No need."

"How can you not need practice?" Hana quirked an eyebrow, "You're stupid."

"I didn't come out here to hear you bitch, Imamura," Aomine grumbled without heat, "Why are you here?"

"To use the basketball court, obviously."

"Doubtful."

"I'll have you know, I'm an excellent basketball player! I could totally kick your ass!"

Still resting on the ground, Aomine let out a bark of laughter, "Yeah right."

"Oh really," Hana growled as her hands landed on her waist. She knew she couldn't beat Aomine, but her pride was injured! The least she could do was try, "Come on then. Get up mister hot shot."

"No way," Aomine drawled, "I'm comfortable."

Hana huffed at the obnoxious boy. He had laid back down and was pretending to sleep in an attempt to ignore her. Well, Hana wasn't having that shit. Green eyes sparking with mischief, Hana palmed her stolen basketball. As Aomine's breath evened out, she tossed it. The orange ball hit him in the forehead before rolling away.

"Ow," Aomine groaned and brought a hand to his face, "The hell was that!"

"I win," Hana stated with a smirk.

"How was that winning! You just hit me with the ball!"

"Well, if we were playing dodgeball I would have won."

"We weren't!"

"You sure?" Hana challenged, "I never said _what_ I'd kick your ass in."

"Yes, you did! You said basketball!" By now, Aomine had crawled to his feet and was pointing at her in accusation. A large red splotch had grown on his forehead and Hana couldn't control her laughter at the sight. Hearing her, Aomine growled before stalking toward the basketball. He passed it too her roughly, "Come on then, play."

Catching it easily, Hana dribbled, "You sure? I don't want to hurt the injured, little baby."

"Imamura," Aomine growled in warning, but this only made Hana laugh harder. She passed the ball into her right hand before grabbing it and shooting. She was too short to shoot without jumping, so Hana had to hop to reach the right height. Aomine watched her in incredulity, but the swoosh of the basketball net distracted him from making a scathing remark. He raised a blue eyebrow, "I didn't think you were serious."

"I am!" Hana taunted as she raced after the rebounding ball, "Come on! Don't be a scaredy cat!"

"I'm not scared!" Aomine retorted before heading toward the goal, "It's not like you'll be able to score with me blocking."

Deciding to be a brat, Hana shot the ball again. This time she wasn't aiming for the goal, but for Aomine's head. The ball hit the top of his head once, before bouncing to the floor and Hana smirked. Watching Aomine's face flare up in irritation, she let out a giggle as his face turned red. The ace snarled under his breath before advancing toward the ball. Bending down to retrieve it, he yelled at her, "Come on! You started this so you better play!"

"Fine!" Hana laughed at the tall boy, "Just don't be mad when I destroy you!"

In the end, Aomine won. This was to be expected of course, but Hana would do it all again just to see the tall boy smiling like he did. Apparently, her screwed up playing style was more of an amusement then a hindrance and she had Aomine laughing non-stop. Time had passed quickly and soon it was dark outside. As the streetlights came on, the two said their goodbyes and Aomine had ruffled her hair before leaving.

Hana would never admit it to anyone else, but that had been the most fun she'd had in a while.

 _July 7_ _th_

If there was one thing Hana could change about herself, it would be her blush. They happened at the most inconvenient times; if she was angry, happy, flustered, or tired Hana was blushing. Even worse was that it wasn't a tiny speckling of rose that adorned her cheeks. No, Hana's blushes were comparable with what your skin would look like if you rubbed it down with sandpaper. Blotchy, dark red, and _completely_ unattractive.

Midorima, on the other hand, had the kind of blush Hana wanted. The bespeckled teen was standing in front of her, eyeing the bag Hana had shoved into his hand with contempt. His cheeks were a pretty shade of pink and Hana couldn't stop her envy from rearing its ugly head. Midorima forced out a response, "What is this?"

"Uhm," Hana stalled, "It's your birthday present?"

"You got me a present…" Midorima considered the sparkly pink bag, "Why?"

"…Because it's your birthday?"

"I didn't need anything," He pushed his glasses up his nose, "But thank you."

Blinking at his attitude, Hana pushed the conversation further, "Aren't you going to open it?"

"I will," Midorima answered and if Hana didn't know any better she'd say he was annoyed, "Not at this moment, though."

"Please?" Hana hedged. She really wanted to see his reaction to the gift. It had taken her a lot of thought to figure out what someone like Midorima might want. He was an odd fellow to shop for.

"Considering it is my birthday, shouldn't you be acknowledging my opinion?"

"No," Hana deadpanned, "Since when have I ever done that?"

This was a true statement, Hana had never really cared for Midorima's personal limits. Ever since they had made a connection, or friendship whatever, Hana had insisted on pushing the green headed boy's boundaries as much as she could. There was this one time when she'd given him a hug and his reaction had been the best thing she'd ever seen. In the end, despite how annoying Midorima insisted she was, he never pushed her away. Hana took that as an accomplishment.

Meanwhile, in the present, Midorima let out a forlorn sigh, "Scorpio's."

Hana rolled her eyes at that. Whenever she annoyed him, he pushed the zodiac thing into her face. Something about Scorpio's being volatile and unpredictable. Which, frankly, she thought was bullshit. She wasn't _volatile!_ Giving Midorima her best pout, Hana continued, "Please?"

"Fine," Midorima said, "Give me a moment, please."

Waiting patiently, Hana eyed Midorima as he cautiously opened the bag. She really wanted to roll her eyes at his over dramatics, but figured that would be kind of rude. He did have a point to be cautious. Tuning back to her friend, Hana watched with baited breath as he pulled the stuffed animal out of the bag.

"What is this?" Midorima questioned, _again._

"A stuffed animal!" Hana declared at his blank face, "It's a crab! You know, since Cancers are crabs and all. It also has the Cancer constellation printed on it…" she trailed off at his wide-eyed look, "You don't like it?"

"It's…" Midorima coughed and his blush grew, "It's satisfactory."

Giving him a sharp look, Hana continued, "If you don't like it Midorima-san, I won't mind. Just tell me so I can return it."

"No," Midorima brought the stuffed animal to his chest defensively. A moment later, he seemed to realize his actions and brought it back, "There is no need to return it. It would be pointless."

 _Ah,_ Hana thought, _he totally likes it._ She couldn't quite contain the smug look on her face when she responded, "Well I'm glad. Anyway, happy birthday Midorima!"

The choking cough that came from the boy was enough for Hana to realize her mistake. Now she was blushing alongside Midorima. _Well, it's too late to take it back now…_ Meanwhile, Midorima was looking anywhere other than Hana. His voice came out strangled, "Thank you, Imamura."

"I'm just…" Hana flailed her arm around a bit, "Gonna go now? Yeah, that sounds good."

Turning around stiffly, Hana began to walk back the way she came. Her thoughts were racing a mile a minute, _way to overdo it! He'll never be able to look at you in the face!_

Still standing in the hallway, Midorima looked down at the blue crab crushed between his fingers. He relaxed his grip and smoothed a slow hand across the stuffed animals head. It was unexpected, but not unwelcomed. His green eyes flicked back up and he caught the tail end of Imamura's ponytail twist around the corner. _Unexcepted, but not unwelcomed._

 _July 10_ _th_

The two girls were reclining on Hana's bed with a cup of tea for Momoi and a cup of coffee for Hana. Hana had followed Akashi's orders and went with Momoi to observe the first-string team's opposition. Both girls had got sucked into the match and used a tape recorder to analyze them later. It had been a good game with Teiko's competition winning with a forty-point lead. So now, both girls were painting their nails as they watched the proceedings play out again.

"That player number 15 is really good," Hana commented as she painted her finger with another layer of pink, "What's his name?"

"Yasue Kiyoshi," Momoi answered, "Yeah, his specialization is in defense. See? He was able to corner the offense without any trouble."

"Eh, shouldn't be any trouble for you guys," Hana watched the tiny digital player snatch the ball out of another's hands, "He's reckless. Isn't he on his second foul now?"

"Mhmm," Momoi hummed and reached over Hana's leg to get the nail polish remover, "He got taken out third quarter."

"Pair him up with Akashi-san," Hana retorted, "He'll be able to force him to foul out quicker."

"I was thinking Aomine-kun," Momoi replied, distracted. Her pink hair friend rewinded the video back to when the player snatched the ball, "Aomine-kun would be able to avoid those swipes and pass to Tetsu-kun."

Tilting her head, Hana considered the words, "Yeah, true. It would just be a pain for two of your players to get caught up in his defense instead of one."

"Hmm, Ki-chan maybe?" Momoi retrieved her bottle of nail polish, "Do you like this color?"

"Kise would be good," Hana glanced toward Momoi's feet, "Yeah, it looks like Murasakibara-san's hair though."

"Imamura-chan!" Momoi let out a startled giggle, but continued to paint her toenails in the lavender color. Giving her friend a smirk, Hana laid back and stared at the ceiling. She eyed the water stains contemplatively and wondered when her dad would be home. _At least I don't have to clean tonight._

"Speaking of Ki-chan," Momoi began teasingly and broke Hana out of her thoughts, "He's been talking about you a lot lately."

Feeling the breath shoot out of her chest, Hana glanced to Momoi in surprise, "What?"

"Yeah, he really liked that necklace you gave him," Momoi giggled and covered her mouth with her hand, "But Midorin brought a cute little crab to practice yesterday. Does that ring any bells?"

"They were birthday presents!" Hana defended before rolling onto her stomach and staring up at Momoi, "What are you implying?"

"Nothing! I just think it's cute," Momoi teased with a smile.

"Cute," Hana scoffed. Tilting her head over her shoulder, she watched the game before wincing at a particularly nasty fall, "Ow, did you see that?"

"You're changing the subject, Imamura-chan," despite this Momoi looked toward the television, "Yeah, I remember that. Don't you? He had to be taken out the rest of the game."

"Oh, yeah!" Hana snapped her fingers, "Shit, I totally forgot about that. So, I guess that means he won't be in the game next week? Unless he has like super human healing abilities."

"I doubt it," Momoi gave her a small smile before wiggling her toes in the air, "I really liked this color until you told me it looks like Mukkun."

"My bad," Hana didn't sound at all guilty and Momoi shot her an exasperated look. The two girls trailed off as they watched the game continue with the occasional comment or note taking. By this point, both girls had at least two pages of notes built up with information about the team. Hana thought it was a bit of overkill, but she couldn't deny how much fun it had been.

Their little get together lasted about two more hours before Momoi said she had to head home. Hana had been forced to suffer through another smothering hug, but this time Momoi had promised to text her later. The two girls had made plans to hang out again next week after the first-string game, which was something Hana was strangely looking forward too. As she watched Momoi walk toward the side walk, Hana realized that having a girl-friend was really nice.

Her thoughts were cut short when Momoi turned around and yelled up at her, "We still need to talk about Ki-chan and Midorin! I'll be waiting!"

Hearing the words, Hana's face fell and she shot the pink haired girl a glare. _Maybe not that great, after all._

Oh well, all in all it was a pretty good day.

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **JeyaMendoza: I'm glad you liked Hana's interactions with Murasakibara! I'll admit her father's bakery is a bit odd; I actually based it off one in my town! Furthermore, I'm glad you liked Hana's teammates! They'll make some more cameos throughout the story, but the situation probably won't be so light hearted. Finally, I'm sorry that I made the date scenario with Kuroko so short. I wanted it to be longer, but if I kept going like this I would never get to the actual story! Thank you for your reviews though!**

 **ADDbaby: I love lil shit Kuroko. He's my favorite Kuroko other than smiling Kuroko. Thank you for your reviews and I'm glad this put a smile on your face! Your comments are super entertaining and I** _ **love**_ **them.**

 **Red Raspberries: I'm glad you liked Hana's team and the chapter! Thank you for all your sweet comments! They've really helped me keep up the motivation to continue!**

 **AngelicHallows: Yay for updates! No, I really haven't decided who she will end up with. I'm trying to make everything equal since I listed it as OC/Gom and I don't want to go back on it. But if she begins to focus on one character as the story develops deeper, I won't stop it. Right now, I'm still focusing on building the relationship so I haven't considered the long run. Anyway, thank you for your review and support!**


	16. Chapter 16

**_So many words. Why do I do this to myself? Also, I'm so tried of writing fluff. I bet if I threw up right now it would just be giant wads of cotton candy. Fluffy, fluff, fluff. All I can say is, enjoy it while it lasts._ _Anyway! New chapter! Enjoy!  
_**

 ** _Warnings: Bad language, terrible editing (silently pleads for a beta), and violent thoughts and or actions_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._**

* * *

 _Summer Break Begins_

 _July 18_ _th_

Summer break began with a bang. Literally.

Her team still had practice this afternoon, despite the incoming vacation. A few of the members weren't present and Hana assumed they skipped out for this very reason. Beside her, Uoya had his hands covering his ears and Iseri was wincing at the display. The unofficial leader in Futabatei's absence, Kajiwara, was watching the scene with a gaping mouth.

"What?" The blonde upper class-man managed, "What did you just do!"

The perpetrator, Kitano, gave him a sheepish smile, "A firework?"

"A firework!" Kajiwara repeated in disbelief, "Why'd you think it'd be a good idea?!"

"Everyone likes fireworks…" Kitano answered.

"Pyromaniac," Hana coughed into her hand and looked away when Kitano shot her a glare, "Hey, at least it wasn't me this time."

"That doesn't matter!" Kajiwara looked close to pulling his hair out, "You—Why would you—Kitano!"

"I think Kajiwara-senpai is having a breakdown," Uoya whispered from her side. Silently, Hana had to agree. She glanced around in hopes that someone would come interrupt their little grouping, but no such luck. _Where's coach when you need him?_

"I don't blame him," Hana added just as Kajiwara began to stalk toward Kitano, "He won't seriously hurt him, right?"

This time, Iseri chimed in from the background, "He's holding a pen."

"Oh crap," Uoya's eyes widened, "Pens are dangerous."

"…" Hana squinted her eyes at her grey-haired friend, "The hell? Since when have pens been dangerous?"

"You've thrown them at us enough times," Iseri grumbled as he crossed his hands over his chest. Meanwhile, Kajiwara had pulled Kitano into a headlock and was ranting at his thrashing form. Iseri followed her gaze and quirked an eyebrow, "Kajiwara-san has developed more upper body strength."

"Uhm, you want to break them up?" Hana questioned. Uoya stepped back as her gaze landed on him and Hana transferred it over to Iseri. The skinny teen shoot her a look, but his body didn't move. Hana took this as a firm _no,_ "Then I guess we're just leaving them."

"But—" Uoya stumbled, "Kajiwara-senpai's so much bigger then him!"

"Yeah, but Kitano's feisty," Hana retorted.

"I have to agree with our manager, Uoya-kun," Iseri added his two sense, "Kitano-kun is also very flexible."

Uoya and Hana both paused at that statement. Iseri merely raised an eyebrow, making Uoya duck behind Hana at the unspoken threat. Unfortunately, Hana did not heed the warning, "Did you finally ask him out?"

"Hana-chan," Iseri's calm voice replied, "I would prefer you not speak of that in public."

"So, no, you haven't."

Iseri smiled pleasantly, "I will permanently shut your mouth."

"Guys, come on! Let's just get along," Uoya's begging did nothing to stop the budding tension.

In the background, Kitano let out another pitiful plea for help as Kajiwara broke into insane laughter. Unbeknownst to the team, Coach had walked into the gym, stopped, and walked right back out. He didn't have the patience for this kind of mayhem today.

 _I just wanted a regular team,_ Coach thought as he hastily walked away, _that's all I asked for!_

 _July 23_ _rd_

You see some weird things on the street. Men selling illegal goods out of their trench pockets, women dressed in frilly pink outfits, kids on leashes. Not to mention blushing boys who happened to be carting a life-sized cactus. Hana blinked as the last person registered. _Was… was that Midorima?_

It was, in fact, her green haired friend. With a cactus in a cart.

Frankly, Hana didn't know what to do. The boy didn't look overly happy and she did _not_ want to be on the receiving end of his anger. Despite his overall neutrality, Midorima had a vicious tongue when he was annoyed. Kind of like a snake. A mental image of a green snake with glasses popped into her head and Hana couldn't stop the resulting chuckle. _Now that would be the day,_ she smirked, _I wonder if he'd like the comparison._

Meanwhile, Midorima was slowly making his way toward Hana's location. She had taken a break from her morning jog to sit against the curb. It was a wonder he hadn't noticed her yet. As her friend got closer, Hana could see that his face wasn't red from embarrassment, but from exhaustion. He even had sweat dripping down his forehead. Hana could relate, it was damn hot out.

"Midorima!" Hana called out and almost giggled at his resulting stagger, "Over here!"

"Imamura?" Midorima whispered to himself. His steps slowed down as he glanced to the side of the road. There she was. He quickly looked away as he registered what she was wearing, _too much skin! That's inappropriate!_

"What…" Midorima stumbled, "What are you doing? What are you wearing!" He hadn't meant to let that last part out, but he'd accept it.

"Uh," Hana was startled by the abrupt questioning, "A tank top? Shorts? Or are you talking about my shoes?"

"You should cover up," He tried to make his voice stern, but was unsuccessful.

"Not happening," Hana deadpanned, "It's hot as shit out. In fact, you should take off some clothes."

If his face hadn't been red before, it was now. His wide green eyes came to rest on Hana in alarm and she quickly realized her mistake. Trying to backpedal, Hana waved her arms about, "Not like that! You're in a suit! You could over heat!"

"I'll be fine," He stuttered out. Taking a deep breath, Midorima pushed his glasses up and looked back to her, "Why are you out here?"

"Running," Midorima's face remained blank and Hana rolled her eyes, "I've got to get a workout somehow, ya know?"

"I was… unaware of that," He admitted. Now, her outfit made sense.

"It's not like I blab it too everyone," Hana shrugged before questioning, "What's with the cactus?"

"It's Cancer's lucky item today."

"But, couldn't you like find a smaller one?"

"Cancers are ranked last today," Midorima explained, "The larger the item, the better the luck."

"Okay, but a cactus," Hana blinked at him without understanding, "That seems to be detrimental to the whole good luck thing. It's sharp and prickly."

Midorima scowled at the reminder of his morning accident, "I'm aware."

"I take it you've already experienced the side effects."

"Yes," Her friend looked away from her and Hana raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm going to have to go, Imamura. It was pleasant to run into you."

"Yeaaaah," Hana drawled out, "Doesn't sound like you mean that."

"I have an appointment with my father at the hospital. I can't be late," Midorima explained before picking the handle of the cart up again. Hana's eyes widened at that, _he's going to pass the hell out if he keeps working like this._

Springing up from her spot, Hana came closer to Midorima. She didn't notice how his eyes strayed to the sky in an attempt to ignore her attire. Moving toward the cactus, Hana bent down, "This thing must weigh a hundred pounds. How are you gonna carry it all the way?"

"I have no choice, but to do so," he answered and tugged on the handle. The cart squeaked behind him before rolling forward.

"You're going to mess up your shoulder," Hana called from behind him, "Then you'd mess up your shots!"

Freezing at the thought, Midorima shot a cold glare over to the girl, "I don't recall asking for your opinion."

"You're the future doctor, you should know this," Hana teased before stepping closer to her green haired friend. Coming to stand in front of him, she tilted her head, "I have an idea."

Without Midorima's consent, Hana closed the distance between the two of them. Her hand came to rest on his neck and Midorima felt his face pale, _what… what is she doing?!_ Seconds later, he felt a weight leave his neck and watched his tie flutter to the ground. Imamura bent down to pick it up before shooting back up and wrapping her arms around his waist. Midorima will never, in all the years he lives, admit to the startled gasp he made.

"Man," Hana mumbled from below, "I want your waist size. Hold on though, almost done."

Feeling a cinching sensation in his waist, Midorima squeaked out, "What are you doing!"

"Almost done," Hana muttered defensively, "Hold your horses."

The cinching sensation continued until it suddenly stopped. Looking down at himself, Midorima blanked at his tie tied around his waist. Without cataloging his reaction, Hana grabbed the tail end of his tie before twirling him around to face his cart. She tied the tail end to the handle of the cart and stepped back with a proud flourish. Smirking, she cheered, "Taa daa!"

"You tied me to my cart," Midorima deadpanned, "With my _tie._ "

"Anddd," she coughed uncertainly, "You don't seem happy about it?"

"Not particularly," his glasses flashed as he peered down at his tie, "How is this supposed to help?"

"Walk," Hana shooed him forward with her hands, curious to see if her plan would work. Shooting her a glare, Midorima did as ordered and walked forward. He was immediately surprised by the ease at which he moved. Because he wasn't on an incline, he felt zero to none of the pervious pressure earlier.

"It's acceptable," was all he offered before looking away, "I need to leave now. I've wasted enough of my time as it is."

"Well, aren't you a grumpy grouch," Hana gave him her practiced pout. After getting to know the fellow she'd learned that he didn't respond well to her more dramatic pouts. If she showed any signs of tears, he was out of there. Hana now used a patented Midorima pout where she only stuck her lower lip out and gave him the puppy-dog eyes. _Works every time._

He only gave her a side glance before continuing to walk ahead. A few moments passed before he stopped and Hana could hear his grudgeful reply, "Thank you, Imamura."

 _Ah ha! Progress!_ Hana applauded silently. With this new-found development, she decided to take an even bigger step and skipped up to her tall comrade. Hana threw her arms around him in a crushing hug before Midorima could acknowledge her presence, "You're welcome, Midorima!"

The boy's resulting blush was enough to satisfy her and Hana let go of her hold before quickly stepping out of his range. Shooting her a baleful glare, Midorima began to stalk forward. This time he didn't turn back, but Hana didn't mind. She always got a kick out of messing with Mr. Grumpy.

Meanwhile, Midorima was thinking on a different level. His blush had yet to subside and he could feel his feet digging into the ground as he walked. Letting out an aggravated huff of air, Midorima glowered. _That girl will be my death._

 _July 30_ _th_

Her mouth wouldn't close. Actually, to be correct, it _couldn't_ close. The house in front of her was ginormous. If it could even be considered a house! More like a damn castle. A few feet ahead sat a lawn of impeccable grass and beautifully trimmed bushes with a stone path lead up to the main entrance. Hana couldn't tell if she was in a fairy tale or a horror movie. The location could qualify it as a fairy tale, but the company gave it a foreboding edge.

Standing ahead on the pathway, Akashi looked back at the awestruck girl. His voice broke Hana out of her astonishment, "Imamura."

"You live here?" Hana whispered. She was still standing on the side walk, afraid to step foot on the neatly polished lawn.

"Yes," her companion drawled, "May we head inside, now?"

"Sure," Her voice was shaky as she stepped carefully on the pathway. Akashi remained waiting, but Hana could feel his impatience radiating off like a second skin. Making her way to his side, the captain gave her a once over before nodding. The two began to walk together toward the entrance before Hana spotted a man in the bushes, "You have a personal _gardener?"_

"Yes. Please do not stare."

Hana continued to stare at the man trimming a rose bush, ignoring his command. Shooting her a backwards glance, Akashi continued to walk ahead. Hana mumbled to herself as she hurried to catch up, "I was right. He's totally in the mafia."

Akashi's shoulders sagged as he sighed, "My family is not affiliated with the mafia, Imamura."

"That's what they all say," Hana retorted from behind, "Terrible cover up if you ask me."

Ignoring her, Akashi came to stop in front of the doorway. As he turned, his red eyes came to rest on the manager and he made his voice carry to her lagging form, "My father isn't home at this time, but please remember to be mindful and use any manners you may possess."

"Was that a dig at my personality?" Hana grumbled as she came to the end of the walkway, "Also, you really need a shorter entryway. I feel sorry for the mailman."

Again, Akashi deemed her insignificant and decided not to reply. A pale hand came up and firmly knocked on the door. Hana raised an eyebrow, _it's his house and he's knocking?_ Her thoughts were answered when the door swung open to reveal a smiling elderly man.

"Akashi-san," the man bowed his head, "Welcome home."

Opening his mouth, Akashi began to reply only to be interrupted by a gasp. Behind him he could hear Imamura, "You have a _butler?!"_

The elderly man's face paled at the sight of the flamboyant girl and he shot Akashi a concerned glance. Watching, the redhead brought a hand up and squeezed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He should have known this was a terrible idea.

Meanwhile, Hana had darted in front of Akashi and was investigating the butler, "You aren't a demon, right?"

It had taken Akashi much too long to herd Imamura into the family library. It was safe to say he was annoyed, yet the girl continued to rabble on about his home. Every time she saw a maid or a servant, she had stopped walking and stared. Not to mention her fascination with his father's artwork. The two were now sitting at a small table in the center of the library and she still hadn't quieted down.

"Imamura," Akashi ordered, "Calm yourself."

Appearing sheepish, if only for a moment, Hana nodded, "Sorry, Akashi-san. It's just… you've got so much cool shit!"

"Please use proper language," Akashi's eyes blazed, "At school and in public, your reputation does not affect mine. But here, you are my guest and your conduct is a representation of my own."

"Uhm," Hana stumbled at his intense look. Boy, he was _not_ happy. Deciding to change the subject away from her apparent mistake, she gave him a shaky smile, "So, why'd you invite me?"

The redhead hummed thoughtfully before standing and sauntering toward the numerous bookshelves. Hana watched him warily; he hadn't answered her question at all. A few moments later, Akashi returned and placed a book on the table between them. It was a large red book with a gilded gold title. Hana blanched as she read the title, _A Guide to Proper Etiquette._

"Akashi-san…" her voice trailed off.

The captain gave her a glance before continuing, "I have discovered a use for your talents."

"Okay," Hana blinked, "But what does this have to do with _that?"_

"Our team has developed a presence with the journalism community," Akashi explained, "I have been able to deal with them effectively, but now, I can pass the duty onto you."

"The duty?" Hana deadpanned, "Are you making me a publicist?"

"Essentially," Akashi gave a slow smirk across from her, "You've been attending our games since sixth year—"

"…how do you know that?"

"Imamura," Akashi chastised, "As I was saying, you've attended our games. You have seen the influx of reporters. While many of them are there to record our success, others are looking for a weakness."

"Right," Hana nodded. _I think I know where he's going with this. But what does that book have to do with anything?_

Akashi folded his hands in front of him, "I would like for you to take over the responsibility of dealing with them."

"So, like, in the nice way? Or tell them to screw themselves way?"

His smirk turned sharp, and in Hana's opinion, a little sadistic, "I want you to remain polite, but do not let them tarnish Teiko's reputation. You may prevent this in anyway of your choosing as long as you don't appear insolent."

She had a bad feeling about the relation this statement had to the large book on the table. Hana's green eyes glanced at its dusty cover cautiously, "And the book?"

"That's why I've invited you here today," Akashi's smile was _definitely_ sadistic now, "I need to make sure you can handle the task, as your attitude will publicly effect Teiko and our teammates."

"Oh no," Hana brought her hands up nervously, "I can be polite! No need for all that!"

"If you believe so," Akashi hummed and flipped open the book. Letting out a sigh of relief, Hana let her thoughts relax, _I love half-truths._ Regrettably, her joy vanished when Akashi began to speak again, "We will need to work on your deception skills too."

"… Noooo," Hana moaned and buried her face into her hands.

She could have sworn she heard Akashi huff, but it was probably her imagination. Sliding the book toward her, Akashi began, "Lesson one; the use of polite speech."

An hour and thirty minutes later, Hana's brain was fried. She had been stuffed full of _proper manners_ this and _no cursing_ that. Not to mention, Akashi made her work on controlling her tells. Apparently, when she lied to him, or anyone on the team really, she looked like a startled rabbit; wide eyed, puffy cheeks, and gaping mouth. That lesson hadn't lasted long because, no matter how hard she tried, Hana couldn't lie to Akashi and by god she _tried._ Secretly, Hana thought Akashi was happy with the results, but she couldn't be certain.

" -Talents?" Akashi's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"What?" Hana echoed and peeked her head out from its resting place on the table, "Did you say talents?"

"Yes. It's custom for a woman to cultivate her talents," Akashi explained, "I was curious if you had any."

"Do you have any idea how sexist that sounds, Akashi-san?"

The redhead's lips tilted upward, "I see we still need to work on your sass. I am curious though, if you do not mind sharing."

"Uh," Hana tugged her lip into her mouth, "I used to play the piano, don't know if I still can. Uhmm," she couldn't think of any more, "Oh! I can insult someone in three different languages!"

"That's not quite the talent I was referring too," Akashi rose a brow in interest, "Do you mean you can speak three languages?"

"Yeah," she nodded her head in thought, "I know Japanese, of course, but I'm fluent in English and I can hold a basic conversation in Spanish."

"Spanish?" Akashi questioned. That was an unusual language for someone to learn. Most of his peers focused on English, French, or a Chinese dialect.

"My mom works in Phoenix," Hana explained at Akashi's look, "It's in Arizona. I used to go over there every break and since it's pretty close to Mexico, we'd go down to the beaches. I picked some stuff up."

"Hmm," Hana's wasn't sure she liked Akashi's piqued interest, "Do you know French?"

"Enough to talk to a toddler," Hana's statement was blunt.

"You should learn. It seems you have a linguistic talent, it'd be a shame to waste it."

"Maybe," she shrugged noncommittedly, "So are we done with all this?"

"For now," Akashi admitted. He stood from his chair and went to replace the book. When he came back, he continued, "You weren't as poor as my first assumption had lead me to believe."

Sighing, Hana lifted her hands above her head, resulting in a satisfying pop. Drowsy green eyes blinked at the captain and she spoke before she could stop herself, "You even make insults sound attractive. How do you do that?"

Lifting a perplexed red brow, Akashi watched her stretch out without providing an answer. The managers outfit had been rumbled from sitting at the table for so long and she had developed light circles under her eyes. Even her hair had been taken out of its customary ponytail and was messily draped over her left shoulder. _It's quite long_ , he noted absentmindedly.

During Akashi's inspection, Hana had stood from her chair and was rotating her sore shoulder in a circle. She gave the redhead a passive glance before looking toward the door of the library in contemplation, "I hate to ask this, but can you walk me out, Akashi-san?"

"It will be my pleasure, Imamura," Akashi inclined his head before latching a hand around her arm. Hana's resulting squawk was lost in her throat at the sudden contact. Lips tipping upwards, Akashi explained, "I'm simply being polite. There is no need for tension."

"Sure," Hana drawled in terrified sarcasm, "Because being this close to you doesn't freak everyone _in the whole world_ out."

Akashi let out a soft sigh as he led her through the labyrinth of hallways, "I had hoped we removed this habit of yours."

"Pshh," Hana scoffed, "It's a part of me, either you like me or you don't. I won't change myself for someone's approval."

"Admirable," the captain commented as they reached the main foyer. The elderly butler from before was there and Hana mouthed an embarrassed apology to him. The man ignored her, but he did step forward and open the door. Akashi took that time to speak, "This meeting has outdone my expectations, Imamura. Thank you for coming."

"No problem and thank you for inviting me," Hana replied as she slipped out of his hold. Her arm felt strangely cold, but she ignored it. Giving Akashi a small grin, Hana continued, "See you at school then, Akashi-san?"

"We will see," Akashi agreed with a dip of the head, "I may call on you before, but if the need doesn't arise, I hope you enjoy the rest of your break."

Clearing her throat, Hana cursed her blush. _Seriously, right now? Damn genetics._ Making her way out of the open door and giving the butler a thank you, Hana turned back to Akashi. Her voice carried to him even as the door shut behind her, "You too Akashi-san. See you later!"

Red eyes stared at the door and the butler came forward in the silence, "Akashi-san? Would you like anything before we meet for dinner?"

"No thank you," Akashi replied, "If you happen to run into my father when he returns, please inform him I will be in my room."

"Yes, sir."

"And Hiro?" Akashi spoke to the man's back, "Please refrain from mentioning Imamura's presence."

"Yes, sir."

Turning away from the door, Akashi began the walk to his room. _What an enlightening day._

 _Aug 3_ _rd_

Biting her lip into her mouth, Hana stared down at her phone screen. Her finger was hovering over the send key, but she kept taking it away indecisively. Did she really want to do this? Was she that bored? The answer was yes, she was that bored. She wasn't too certain if she _wanted_ to this or not, but hell, you never know.

Closing her eyes, Hana hit send. The regret started immediately and she winced at the thoughts rushing through her head. Taking a moment, Hana reread her message to catch any typos.

 _To: Kise_

 _Hey, Kise. It's Imamura. Momoi-san gave me your number, hope you don't mind. What are you doing today?_

Despite what one would commonly believe, Kise took a while to reply to her message. This fact did nothing to help her frazzled nerves and Hana spent the time between cleaning to glance at her phone in anticipation. This was the first time she had personally asked one of the Miracles to hang out and it was strangely intimidating.

 _Ping._ Hana's hand froze from cleaning the counter and she mechanically turned toward her phone. It was resting on the couch when another _ping_ went off. On one hand, she wanted to race over and see if it was Kise. On the other hand, she wanted to throw her phone into a river and never see it again.

One foot led the other until Hana was standing above the couch and staring down at her phone. Another _ping._ Her eye began to twitch. Unconsciously, Hana reached down and grabbed the phone.

 _From: Kise_

 _Imamura-chaaaan! Hiii!_

 _From: Kise_

 _at shoot, done n 20 min!_

 _From: Kise_

 _g2 park on ginza_

"Of course, he uses abbreviations," Hana muttered, "And Ginza? I'm regretting this already."

That meant she had to attempt to look presentable. Which meant she had to get dressed and not leave the house in her fluffy cat pants. Putting down the cleaner, Hana called for Nūdoru. The dog bounded down the stairs and Hana winced at the sound. Their pretty hardwood floors were going to be ruined.

"Hey pup," Hana called, "Want to go on an adventure?"

Her dogs body slammed into the room in a mess of wild fur and slobbery smiles. His eyes flashed around the room in confusion, but as Hana cleared her throat, Nūdoru turned them onto her with an excited woof. His tail beat against the floor and Hana couldn't stop her smile.

"We're going to the park!"

Forty minutes later, Hana was being dragged down the street. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but today Hana decided to be _cute._ Why the hell did she ever try to be _cute?!_ Because of her stupid decision, she was being hauled by a giant dog down the road while simultaneously trying to keep her skirt tail down in the vicious wind.

"Slow down!" Hana screeched. Because of Nūdoru's speed they were already at Ginza. Despite her house's failing condition, there were a couple perks living in the center of town. Meanwhile, people were watching her with wide eyes and several had jumped out of the way of her advance. Hana called out half-hearted apologies as she bumped into them. She wasn't that sorry, because damn, it was hurting her too!

Unbeknownst to her, a certain blonde was part of the crowd.

As Imamura was dragged by, Kise sprang into action. Even with how worn out he was from his photo shoot, he sprinted after the girl and dog duo. Imamura-chan was about to be dragged deeper into the crowd when Kise grabbed ahold of her collar. With a secure grip, he yanked her back and smiled guiltily at her resulting wheeze.

"I'm so tired of being manhandled," Hana rasped out, "Absolutely tired of it."

"Sorry Imamura-chan," Kise apologized as he set the girl down. Her hand rubbed at her throat and Hana shot the boy a glare. His resulting wince was interrupted by a large dog tackling him to the ground, "Wah! Help!"

"Nūdoru! Down!" Hana called out as best as she could. Nūdoru listened to her command, but instead of getting off the boy, he sat on Kise's chest. Hana sighed, "That's not what I meant…"

"Hello?" Kise's golden eyes were locked on the dog in slight fear. He'd never seen one this big before… His sister had a tiny Pomeranian, but that was no match to this giant dog. In response, Nūdoru smiled and a huge glob of drool landed on Kise's chest, "Ew! Please get off! Imamura-chan!"

Grabbing ahold of her dog's collar, Hana pulled him off the model. Kise let out a cough before pushing himself up onto his hands. Shooting a wary look toward the dog, Kise spoke, "He's really big… No wonder he was dragging you around."

"I know," Hana let out a despondent sigh, "Try giving him a bath."

Kise finally crawled back up to his feet and let out a soft laugh, "I bet that's fun. So~"

"… So?" Hana repeated as she stroked Nūdoru's head.

"What made you want to hang-out with me?" Kise questioned, "Not that I'm not happy! It was just surprising!"

Hana made a face at the blonde before looking to the ground, "Dunno," she shrugged, "Guess I was lonely, 'sides I haven't seen you since we got out on break."

"You missed me!"

"…meh," Hana didn't dare try to deny it, "What have you been doing?"

"Modeling," Kise shrugged easily, "What about you?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I hung out with Akashi-san?"

His wide eyes told her that, no, he didn't believe her. Kise's voice was equally shocked, "Really?"

"Yup," Hana drawled, "I'm now an unofficial publicist to your merry group of assholes."

A gentle snort escaped the blonde, "Sometimes I think you express love through your insults—"

"What! There is no _love!"_

"Sure, sure," Kise smiled as he waved her off, "But that's good to hear! That means you'll be coming to our games, right?"

"Unfortunately."

At that moment, Nūdoru gave a whine. Both teens looked down at the dog only to see him staring off into the direction of the park pitifully. Kise raised his eyebrows, "I didn't think he could see?"

"He can't," Hana agreed with equal puzzlement, "Maybe he smells the grass?"

"Well, I think there's a dog-park somewhere in there," Kise replied. His head had tilted as he thought and Hana loathed to admit how cute it was. _But, dammit, it's adorable_.

"Want to head over there?" Hana questioned instead. There was no way she'd tell him about her revelation. His ego didn't need to grow any more.

"Lead the way, Imamura-chan!"

"…I've never been here."

"Oh, then follow me!"

A short walk later, Nūdoru was prancing through the dog park and Hana swore he was being followed by butterflies and sparkles. Her face slackened as she continued to watch her dog dance around. Beside her on the bench, Kise was sweat-dropping at the strange display. The two looked toward each other in bewilderment before Kise let out a chuckle with Hana following seconds later.

"Your dog is weird, Imamura-chan," Kise spoke through his laughter, "But I like him!"

"Yeah," Hana agreed and wiped a stray tear off her cheek, "He's the greatest boy I've ever met."

Letting out a fake gasp, Kise brought his hand to his chest, "Imamura-chan! I thought I was your favorite!"

"Eh," she lifted a hand and began to count down on her fingers, "First is Nūdoru. Second is Uoya. Third is Kuroko-kun. Forth is Kitano and fifth is probably…" Hana paused for dramatic effect, "… Kajiwara."

"What! No! That's not fair, Imamura-chan!"

"Shush, number sixteen."

"Sixteen!" Kise turned toward Hana in horror, "I can't be sixteen! I want to be number four!"

"You have to earn- epp!" Hana jumped away from Kise and stared at him with wide green eyes, "Don't do that!"

"I knew you'd be ticklish!" Kise laughed out and waved his fingers at her teasingly, "Make me number four!"

"No—" Kise's probing fingers cut her off and Hana squealed, " You can be number six!"

"Nah-uh," His fingers jabbed into her sides again and she flailed as she tried to get away. Kise's arm wrapped around her to prevent her escape and began to tickle her more viciously, "You can't escape, Imamura-chan~"

"Fine! Fine!" Hana yelled out in defeat, "You're number four! Let me go!"

Instead of letting go, Kise hugged her to his chest and Hana felt it vibrate with his laughter, "Thanks Imamura-chan!"

"If you ever tell anyone…" Hana let her threat hang in the air as she worked to get her breath under control.

"My lips are sealed," Kise promised with a smirk. Hana didn't believe him for a moment. When the situation registered, she didn't want to get off his chest for a moment. It was weird. _I've never felt this comfortable with Kise before_. As her thoughts caught up with her actions, Hana leaned off him before popping him on the head. Kise let out a yelp, "What was that for!"

"Dunno," Hana turned away from him to hide her blush, "Just felt like it."

"Do you always do whatever you want?" Kise pouted at her as he rubbed his head to get rid of the sting.

"Basically, it's a great way to live," Hana admitted.

"Hmmm," Kise hummed and the mood suddenly became serious, "That sounds nice."

"You could do it too," she looked toward him in calculation at the surprise atmosphere, "No one can stop you."

Her blonde friend let out a sigh and relaxed into the bench, "It would just bring more complications."

Hana didn't know what to say to that and let the conversation trail off. The two spent it in silence for a few minutes before Nūdoru came bounding over to them with a stolen baseball. Thus, began the escape that would go down in history as Kise, Hana, and Nūdoru ran away from a very angry baseball team. Finally, the two parted ways when the sun set and Hana was surprised by the hug Kise gave her before leaving.

Though, she never did find out what complications he'd been talking about.

 _Aug 13_ _th_

People do stupid things on vacation, Hana would admit to that. She'd done plenty of stupid things in her few short years of life. But this, this ranked number one. She'd scolded Kitano about his street ball habit. Everyone on the team had reprimanded him about it. Yet somehow, they were here, watching Kitano play street ball on a very dark court with very scary people. Okay, they might not be that scary, but Hana wasn't taking any chances.

She might have felt better about this situation if they had dragged the third years along with them; Kajiwara and Futabatei were both big boys. They could kick some ass. But _nooo,_ Kitano hadn't wanted to get in trouble so it was just her, Kitano, and Iseri. Uoya had wanted to come, but Hana had sent him home with the help of Iseri. Honestly, she didn't want Uoya in this kind of atmosphere.

You might be thinking, oh it's just streetball! What could possible go wrong there? Well, when it involves money, a lot of shit can go wrong. People didn't like to lose money, they liked to win money. So, if you happen to lose a lot of money? Well, you might end up doing something crazy.

With a huff, Hana crossed her arms over her chest. As it was now, Kitano's team was losing the match and he'd have to put a hefty sum into the betting pool. Beside her, Iseri was just as tense. She had to bet seeing his crush in such a dangerous situation was driving him insane. Breaking her out of her thoughts, Iseri spoke, "He shouldn't have asked you to come."

"Probably not," Hana admitted, "I would have come anyway though."

Iseri raised a black eyebrow, "You've never come before?"

"He never participated in a betting pool," Hana defended, "It was normally just singular bets in those one on one games. This is the big deal." The squeaking of tennis shoes echoed over to them and Hana winced as a tall blonde player was shoved to the side, "Brutal."

"Yes, Kitano-kun's being reckless," Iseri admitted before heaving out a sigh, "I hate that he asked you to come, but I'm glad you're here."

Hana blinked at that, "Why?"

"You're the mother of the team."

With a scowl, Hana punched Iseri in the arm, "And you're the dick of the team. Was that supposed to be sweet? Because it didn't work."

"It was meant to be a compliment," Iseri scoffed as he rubbed his sore arm, "But I take it back."

"Weakling," Hana snapped at him without true anger. Her eyes were still locked on the match and she could feel her heart rate picking up with each second Kitano stayed on the court. In a way, Iseri was right. She really did feel like a mother watching her child right now. _Yeah, Kitano would love to hear that…_

The two lapsed into silence as the game continued and it would have remained that way if she hadn't felt a suffocating presence behind her. Closing her eyes, Hana let out a soft curse. She only knew one group of people with presences like that and she begged that it wasn't one of them.

Noticing his friend's tenseness, Iseri turned to her with raised eyebrows, "Hana-chan? What's…. ah."

"Please tell me I'm imagining things, Iseri. Please let that not be who I think it is," Hana begged as she slammed her eyes closed, "Please, please tell me it's not."

Iseri hummed uncertainly, "Depends on who you wanted to see. Hello, Aomine-san."

"…shit," Hana moaned. A large hand landed on her shoulder and Hana squinted her eyes open to look at it. Yep, that was defiantly Aomine's hand. Tilting her head backwards, Hana trailed her gaze up Aomine's arm and landed on his darkened face. Her voice came out in a squeak, "Hello there."

"What are you doing here, Imamura?" Oh man, oh man. Aomine did not sound pleased.

"Enjoying the cultural activities of our nation?" His hand tightened on her shoulder and Hana backpedaled, "Kitano invited me and Iseri to come watch him play!"

"Which one is Kitano?" Aomine drawled out. Instead of releasing her shoulder like she hoped he would, Aomine pulled her backward toward him. It was almost like he was being protective. His navy eyes were narrowed on the court, "Bald one, right?"

"Nope, that's not him," Hana would never rat out her teammate, no matter how stupid he could be, "Why are you here?"

"Why do you think?" His voice was still sharp with anger and Hana had to hide her wince, "You shouldn't be here. Go home."

If there was one thing Hana learned about herself since getting to know the miracles, it was that she didn't like taking orders. With a decisive step forward, Hana got out of Aomine's hold and glared up at him, "No, I'm fine! I'm with Iseri!"

"Go home, Imamura," Aomine growled at her. Narrowing her eyes, Hana accepted the challenge. She would not be leaving any time soon. She turned her back on the irate boy and looked back out to the game. Apparently, Aomine didn't like to be ignored and he stomped up beside her, "Come on, you're going."

"No," Hana stated, "I'm not."

"I'm taking your stubborn ass home," Aomine growled and pulled her under his arm. Ignoring her flailing, he began to walk, "Your friend ran off when I showed up, anyway."

"Iseri didn't run off!" Hana snarled, "You scared him off!"

"Yeah, that's great," Aomine drawled as he pulled Hana along, "A lot of good he would have done you."

Trying to dig her feet into the concrete, Hana scowled up at the ace player, "Fine! Just let me go. I'll walk."

"Hell no, you'll run back over there. I'm not stupid, Imamura."

"I beg to differ," Hana was startled by a sudden hand pushing her head down, "Aomine-san! Stop!"

"Then stop being such a brat."

"Aomine!"

"Huh," the tall boy huffed as he released her head, "Would you look at that? You get pissed and you drop the honorifics. Kise was right."

"I wish you all would stop talking about me!" she screeched before jolting an elbow into Aomine's side. The resulting wheeze had her smirking, "Serves you right."

Hana's sudden victory was squashed when she was abruptly picked up and tossed over a very hard shoulder. Regaining her visibility, Hana gaped down at the floor and Aomine's butt. _That shit! He just tossed me over his shoulder!_ Kicking her legs out, Hana yelled, "Aomine! Let me down, dammit!"

"You're going home," Aomine sounded much too smug for her liking, "Even if I have to take you like this."

"You don't even know where I live!"

"Satsuki told me."

"Aomine Daiki! Put me the hell down!"

"Nah."

Instead of going home, Hana was now sitting across from Aomine in a seedy sushi restaurant. Her navy haired friend had veered off course with a declaration of hunger and since Hana was still strung over his shoulder, she'd been forced to followed. Meanwhile, Aomine continued to ignore her glare in favor of shoving more food in his mouth. Stabbing a piece of sushi, Hana let out an unhappy growl.

"Oi, ease up," Aomine drawled and Hana snarled at him in return, "You're so pissy."

"You'd be pissed too if you were _kidnapped!"_

"Shouldn't have been there anyway."

Hana blushed in indignation, "Who gave you the right to tell me what to do?"

"You," Aomine stuffed another piece of sushi into his mouth, "If you used your brain for once, I wouldn't have to."

Giving him a look at the terrible answer, Hana flicked a piece of sushi at his head. It connected to his forehead and she quirked a brow as it stuck. Meanwhile, Aomine had paused in his assault of the food and his blue eyes slowly traveled up to meet her own. At his baleful glare, Hana merely smiled. _Revenge, asshole._

"Imamura," his voice came out slowly, "Get that off me."

"Nah," Hana drawled before offering him a closed eyed grin, "I think it matches your personality." At his continued stare, she explained, "It's crab. You know, since you're so crabby."

Releasing a sigh, Aomine brought his hand up and wiped the food of his head, "I don't know why I put up with you. You're a pain in the ass."

"Nah uh," Hana offered sweetly, "From my view, it seems you're the pain. I was just living a nice, normal life before it was overhauled by your rainbow ass."

"…rainbow?" Aomine grunted, eyeing her hands warily. He didn't want any more projectiles aimed at his head.

"Yeah," she shot him an incredulous look, "You haven't heard that? That's what everyone calls you guys."

"What!" His head shot up at that, "Who the hell calls us a _rainbow!"_

"Everyone," Hana deadpanned.

"That's a stupid name," Aomine grunted and it almost looked like he was blushing.

"Awe, you're embarrassed!" Hana sang out in an high-pitched coo, "Look at the wittle Aomine and his cute wittle blushing cheeks!"

"Imamura," Aomine growled and by now he was clearly blushing. Most likely out of anger, "I'll tape your damn mouth shut."

"Not if you can't catch me."

"Caught 'ya today, didn't I?"

"Beginners luck," Hana waved his defense away, "Speaking of that, I was meaning to ask you why you were out there."

"The hell do you think?" He let out an aggravated sigh, "I was going to play before your dumbass showed up."

Ignoring the insult, Hana probed further, "So you missed basketball that much? It's only been like a month since we got out of school."

"Not really," He wasn't going to offer more, but Hana gave him a pleading look and with a grunt he continued, "It's better competition out here. No rules."

"Huh," Hana blinked at the answer, "Kitano just plays for the money."

"Well, he's an idiot," Aomine disregarded Hana's squawk, "I don't give a damn about the money; streetball is the only place I can find a real opponent now-a-days."

Pausing, Hana thought over his statement. She hadn't expected him to go so in depth, but she figured she'd asked for it. If only she could think of something to cheer him up, "Don't get so cocky. Someone will come out and kick your ass one day. Maybe it'll be me!" _Eh… Could have probably said that in a nicer way._

"Your head doesn't even reach my shoulders," Aomine deadpanned, but a tiny smirk had grown on the corner of his lips, "You'd just humiliate yourself."

"I can think of a couple ways to bring you down to my level," Hana retorted as she imagined tying Aomine's legs together. _On a second thought_ , "I'll just have Murasakibara-san give me a piggy back ride."

"Bah!" Aomine chocked out and Hana blinked at his laughter, _I wasn't joking._ Getting his laughter under control, Aomine continued, "I'd pay to see that!"

"How much?" If her tone was sly, Aomine didn't need to know why.

Still lost in his amusement, he replied, "As much as I have."

 _Oh ho, ho, ho._ Hana's resulting grin was enough to scare children. Leaning her body over the table, she grabbed a hold of Aomine's hand and forced a handshake, "We've got a deal!"

"Woah, wait!" Aomine stumbled at the sudden contact, "I wasn't serious, Imamura."

"We shook on it. Your excuse is void."

"You didn't give me a choice!"

 _Aug 16_ _th_

Her mind was set. She was going to get Murasakibara to give her a piggy back ride if it was the last thing she did. _Which it very well might be…_

Aomine hadn't been too impressed with her deal so, Hana added some repercussions for herself to get his approval. If she could convince Murasakibara to allow it, she'd get all the money he had in his pocket. It added up to a nice amount and Hana was excited to spend it on some new clothes. On the other hand, if Hana failed, she'd have to do Aomine's homework until winter break.

Step one came in the form of finding the friendly giant. She had considered asking Momoi-san for help, but Hana wasn't sure where the pink haired girl's alliance lied. Aomine was her childhood friend after all. So, the next choice was Kuroko. All she had to do now was contact him. With her phone in hand, Hana began to dial.

Ten minutes and a satisfying phone call later, Hana was on her way to her father's bakery. Kuroko had been kind and hadn't questioned her motives, but Hana suspected he was a bit concerned. Anyway, the blue haired boy had agreed to invite Murasakibara along with him and the two were supposed to meet her at the bakery in about an hour.

In an effort to get rid of the nerves that sprang up on her, Hana pulled on a clean sweatshirt and a new, not stained, skirt. Not the best outfit, but it'd do. Green eyes caught her reflection in the mirror and she winced. _I really need a haircut._

With Nūdoru trotting along beside her, Hana began the fifteen-minute walk to her father's store. The sun was high in the sky and blazed against her skin. Even though she'd put on sunscreen before leaving, Hana was sure her skin would be a lovely shade of pink tomorrow. Her father's store was in sight and she hurried her pace to reach it.

Shoving the door open, Hana sagged in relief at the feeling of the cool air conditioner on her skin. Beside her, Nūdoru copied her action. The girl and dog exchanged a look before Hana spoke, "You know, they say dogs look like their owners. I hope that's not true."

"Honey?" A voice yelled from the kitchen, "Is that you?"

"Shit."

 _This wasn't part of my plan,_ Hana pouted as she manned the register. After his initial yell, Hana's father had bustled out of the kitchen with a happy grin. Hana knew _never_ to trust that smile. Unfortunately, she didn't have much of a choice as her father began to babble on and on about a lack of employees. When he'd finished, he gave her that damned grin before tossing an apron at her face.

The door opened and Hana turned at the sound of the jingle, "Hello. Welcome to—Oh thank god!"

Echoing her sentiment, Nūdoru jumped off his doggy bed and sprang toward Murasakibara and Kuroko. The ghostly player neatly sidestepped the incoming dog, but Murasakibara wasn't as lucky. Nūdoru slammed into the giant with a thud and Murasakibara found himself with a _very large_ armful of wiggling dog.

Ignoring the squiggling mass of slobber, Murasakibara's purple eyes turned toward Kuroko in confusion, "Why are we at Mura-chin's bakery?"

"Imamura-chan wanted to see you," Kuroko answered as he watched Nūdoru, "Apparently as did her dog."

"Can you take him, Kuro-chin?"

"I'm afraid not, Murasakibara-kun. He seems to be quite attached to you."

Ignoring the two's conversation, Hana hastily untied her apron. Sliding toward the kitchen door, Hana poked her head inside, "My friends are here! I'll see you at home, dad!"

"Wait!" Her father's voice echoed behind the swinging door as Hana darted away, "Where are you getting all these friends?!"

Hana didn't stick around long enough to find out what else he was going to say. She loved her father, she loved his bakery, but by god, she hated to work. Sprinting toward the two boys, Hana grabbed the shirt sleeve of each of them before dragging them to the door. Nūdoru gave a happy grin and hung on for the ride.

She didn't let go until they were a safe distance away. Her two friends appeared unruffled by her demanding grip, but Kuroko was eyeing his wrinkled shirt in subtle dismay. After stopping, Murasakibara finally dropped the dog to the floor. Nūdoru was startled for a moment before bouncing back up to Murasakibara and dancing around his legs.

"Hold on," Hana wheezed out and laid a hand on her knee, "Man, you guys are heavy."

"My apologies," Kuroko was the first to respond, "I don't mean to be rude, but I didn't quite understand you on the phone earlier."

"Yeah, Mura-chin, why'd you need to see us?" Murasakibara drawled as he played with Nūdoru. The giant was holding out a hand and her dog was jumping repeatedly to try and catch it.

"I made a bet with Aomine," Hana responded as she straightened herself out. She missed Kuroko's sharp glance at the use of Aomine's name, but she didn't miss Murasakibara's response.

"Why do you use Mine-chin's name so familiarly," It didn't really sound like a question and Hana was stumped on how to respond.

Luckily, Kuroko cut in, "What was the bet?"

"If I could convince Mursakibara-san to let me ride on his back, he'd pay me. If I can't, I have to do his homework for the rest of the year."

"No," Murasakibara spoke immediately, "That's a lot of work."

"It does seem to be an odd thing to place a bet on," Kuroko pondered.

"Eh, he started it," Hana defended before turning to Murasakibara, "I will give you your body weight in sugary goods if you let me do this."

"… Hmm," Murasakibara hummed as he pet Nūdoru's head, "Chocolate or vanilla?"

"Which one would you prefer?" Hana countered. In the background, Kuroko watched the two contemplatively. For his supposed lethargic attitude, Murasakibara-kun was quite smart. Yet on the other hand, Imamura-chan was sly. It would be interesting to see how the two worked this out.

"Strawberry." _Or not that interesting_ , Kuroko amended.

"Yes! Strawberry it is!" Hana declared with a fist pump, "Do we have a deal? You won't crush me?"

"If I don't have to carry you around," Murasakibara drawled, "I'm not picking you up either."

Her face fell at that. It was a relatively long way up to Murasakibara's shoulders. Oh well, she'd signed up for this and she'd see it through! Taking a dedicated step forward, Hana was startled by the hand that tapped her shoulder. Pausing in her advance, she turned her eyes onto Kuroko's face.

"I can help you, Imamura-chan," Kuroko offered, "I'm assuming you'll want me to take a photo too?"

"That'd be great!" Hana smiled back at him and Kuroko walked with her to Murasakibara's back. After eyeing her target, Hana crouched down a bit and jumped. As she hung in the air, two hands wrapped around her waist and pushed her higher. Her arms wrapped around firm shoulders and Hana pulled herself all the way up before twisting her legs around Murasakibara's waist.

"This is weird," she could feel Murasakibara vibrate as he spoke, "You feel like a monkey, Mura-chin."

"Best damn monkey you've ever seen," Hana retorted with a laugh and tightened her arms around Murasakibara's neck, "Could you take a picture now, Kuroko-kun?"

With a small smile, Kuroko came to stand in front of the duo. He brought his phone out and snapped a picture. Bringing it away from his face, he looked down at it with amusement. Murasakibara-kun's face was exasperated, but his face didn't hold any true anger. On his back, Imamura-chan was sticking her tongue out and holding out a rude hand sign. To top it all off was Nūdoru who rested at Murasakibara-kun's feet. The black dog had his tongue rolling out and a canine grin was directed toward the camera.

On a whim, Kuroko set the picture as his phone background before forwarding it to Aomine-kun. When he glanced back up, Imamura-chan was examining Murasakibara-kun's hair and asking the center what kind of conditioner he used. Murasakibara-kun's response went unheard to Kuroko, but he could still see the reluctant fondness on the tall players face.

The rest of their afternoon was spent together as Hana held up her part of the deal. Murasakibara was treated to an all he could eat buffet of strawberry cupcakes, Kuroko was gifted several vanilla cupcakes, and Hana snagged a few of her own. They left a few hours later, but not without a hug from the ecstatic manager.

A disgruntled Aomine ended up paying her the very next day.

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **Crystalviolet24 : ****I'm not sure if this cleared up any of the Akashi stuff with you, his character tends to run away from me and leave various plot holes in his wake (I hate plot holes). But I'm glad you like Aomine's interactions! I always smile when I write this stuff, so hopefully you smile too. Btw, super happy you like second string! They are my** _ **absolute**_ **favorite. Anyway, thank you for your review and support!**

 **AngelicHallows : ****Woohoo! I'm doing the romance right! Also, Momoi deserves a female friend; all that testosterone must get old. Finally, thank you for pointing out my error! I'm not going to lie, I was embarrassed, but I'm glad you told me so I can go back and fix it. My grammar really isn't the best… sad to say (I'm sure everyone already noticed, oppsies). Thanks for another great review!**

 **ADDBaby** **: Friendship is great, but I love angst. I'll try not to break any hearts too bad… hehe. AND YES, Nūdoru is Hana's baby. No ifs, ands, or booties about it. Thank you, friend!**

 **TheParadoxicalOxymoron** **: If life was an otome game, I'd probably die from excessive nose bleedage. But yes, the sky is wonderful! Until the dark cloud of pain slowly eats into the sun and blocks out the light. Thank you for your review! Whoo!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, here comes the drama! 90,000 words later... I hope you guys aren't too mad about it, but I tried not to break too many hearts (yet). Finally, thank you all for the follows, reviews, and favorites! I got over a hundred follows! AH! Thank you all! Enjoy this new chapter!**

 _ **Warnings : Strong language, violence, and bad editing.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any canon events.**_

* * *

Back to School Blues

Her new duties as publicist were in plan to start immediately. The national tournament began about a week after they returned to school and Akashi had informed her she'd be attending. Her team wasn't happy about this, in fact a few of them were downright furious. Some of their blame transferred onto Hana for accepting the deal, but most of it was directed toward the first-string captain. Except for a few _hotheaded_ players.

That's what landed her in this situation. In the past, they had never had as many team meetings as they had this year. All the players were present and Coach was in the back, watching over them. Hana knew he wouldn't interfere; coach liked to let them sort out their own problems. _If only it was as easy as it sounds_ …

"Okay, look," Hana held her hands up in a pleading gesture, "If you're that mad, go talk to Akashi-san about it."

"Maybe I will!" Kitano scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "I told them to back off and they did the exact opposite! You're _our_ manager!"

From his position on the bleachers, Saiki cut in, "I have to agree. It was tolerable at first, but now your duties are being neglected."

At the head of the get together, Futabatei's eyes trailed over his team. His opinion on the matter was neutral. As long as Hana could complete her responsibilities, he saw no harm in the association with first-string. Clearing his throat, Futabatei brought the attention onto him, "As it stands, Imamura has offered no rebukes to Akashi-san's orders. The matter is in her hands."

"Her hands suck!" Kitano argued, "Hana can't say no to save her life!"

"Yes, I can! You idiot!" Hana snapped, "Stop being jealous!"

"Jealous?" Kitano let out a short laugh, "I'm not jealous. I don't give a damn if you want to hang out with them, but don't pull us down with your stupid decisions."

"Hey, now," Uoya cut in and beside him Kajiwara stood up at the increased tension, "Calm down, Kitano-san."

"Don't tell me you don't have a problem with this! You've been complaining about it for weeks!" Kitano shot Uoya a glare.

"What?" Hana's voice had gone soft and she turned her eyes onto Uoya, "You never told me you had an issue with it."

"It's not an issue really," Uoya trailed off, his eyes begging her to understand, "You've just spent so much time with them lately… I don't know, Hana-chan."

Feeling her heart clench inside her chest, Hana brought her eyes to the ground. She hadn't realized Uoya felt that way and her guilt grew. _I'm such a shitty friend. When's the last time we hung out together?_ As she thought, Hana was pulled into a hug with the scent of peppermint informing her it was Uoya.

"Don't be upset, Hana-chan. It's really not a big deal," Uoya mumbled into her hair, "I understand. We just miss you."

In the background, Kitano snorted, "It may not be an issue for you, but it is for me. Their whole friendship is screwed up."

"Kitano-kun," Iseri's voice rang out, "You aren't helping the situation."

"I don't give a damn if I'm helping or not!" Hana lifted her head up and Kitano's glare bore into her, "I _want_ her to know how I feel."

"That's enough," Futabatei's voice was sharp and everyone fell silent, "There is nothing you can do. This is Imamura's choice and not your own."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Kitano's fists clenched into themselves. Lowering his head, Hana watched as Kitano's glare bore into the ground. He released a deep breath before his eyes trailed over to her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but his eyes suddenly sparked when they met her own. Bringing his head up, Kitano turned toward her with a look that could kill.

"Well if she wants to be their bitch," Kitano sneered the word out, making Hana flinch, "Then I guess there's nothing to say."

At that, Kajiwara took a step forward, "Kitano!"

"Whatever. I'm done," his face flashed with regret before Kitano turned on his heel and stalked to his backpack. The bald boy slung it over his shoulder before stomping to the door and slamming it open. The resulting bang echoed in the noiseless gym.

Futabatei broke the silence, "I believe practice is dismissed."

The team began to move as they got over their stunned silence. Tucking her under his arm, Uoya led Hana toward the bleachers with Iseri following moments later. Coach had veered off to have an intense conversation with Futabatei and the two of them shot concerned glances to the door Kitano had stomped out of.

Hana was brought back to the present by Uoya gingerly handing her a backpack. His voice was weak when he spoke, "I'm sorry, Hana-chan. That really got out of control."

"It's not your fault," Hana responded as she grabbed her bag, "I brought it on myself. Never should have brought it up."

"No, no!" Her friend's eyes had widened, "No, that would have made it even worse. At least now, Kitano-san has a chance to cool off."

Giving a feeble laugh, Hana began to stand. A hand landing on her shoulder made her pause, letting Iseri speak, "Kitano-kun said some horrible things, Hana-chan, but I want you to know he didn't mean them."

"It's not your place to defend him, Iseri," Hana retorted, "But, I know. He'll come apologize later and I'll punch him or something. That's how it's always been."

"Exactly!" Uoya chimed in and hugged Hana from behind, "We all love you, no matter what you do!"

Nodding in agreement, Iseri transferred his hand from her shoulder to pat her on the head, "We were a bit jealous, but I think we've all seen the error of our ways."

 _Except Kitano…_ Giving him a tiny smile, Hana tried to channel happiness, "Good, I can hardly put up with you assholes on a normal day."

"Bah," Uoya's arms tightened around her and Hana forced herself to relax in his hold, "You _loooove_ us."

"I do," if her voice cracked, it wasn't her fault, "You know I do."

As Uoya continued to squeeze the life out of her, Iseri shot her a knowing look. He had known Hana since sixth year and he knew some of the deeper aspects of her personality. Despite her outward personality, Hana couldn't handle rejection. It had killed her when Torio left her and now he suspected she felt the same with Kitano. When Hana met his gaze, she turned her head away and Iseri's thoughts turned sour, _he better apologize and soon._

* * *

A week passed and Kitano still hadn't apologized. A few times he'd approach her only to veer off at the last second. Hana wanted to deny how much it bugged her, but it was clear to everyone she had something on her mind.

Because of this back and forth game between them, her temper had been shot to hell. This was the main reason why she was sitting alone today at lunch. She'd been able to put up with miracles presences all week, but today she didn't think she could handle it without snapping at them. Not to mention Uoya. Her best friend had been a constant presence since Kitano's outburst and Hana was close to throwing him into the closest trashcan.

That thought made her immediately feel bad and Hana stabbed at her food in retribution. Thankfully, she'd managed to outmaneuver Uoya to find her current resting place. The bush was big enough to hide her and her lunch. It was also a good fifty feet away from the court yard and Hana couldn't have been happier. A part of her felt bad for ditching Uoya _and_ the miracles, but Hana shoved it as far down as she could.

The rest of the lunch period went by smoothly. Other than plucking a few stray leaves out of her hair, Hana hadn't had any other interruptions. Of course, she thought too soon.

Each of the miracles had their own presence, sans Kuroko. Hana had been working on a way to differentiate them, but it was proving difficult. She could only tell that it was _them,_ not who each person was. Like right now, Hana could feel that overwhelming tightness in the back of her neck that signified their arrival. A glance to the left proved her correct.

The bush was pushed out of the way by a hand and Hana was promptly drenched in shadow by the person's huge body mass. That left four people who could have found her; Kise, Aomine, Midorima, or Murasakibara. Considering the sheer size of the shadow, Hana would bet on the last one. Slow eyes landed on the purple head of hair and she gave herself a mental pat on the back. _Got it in one._

"Mura-chin," Murasakibara's head shifted curiously, "You're in a bush."

"That I am," Hana didn't offer more. Her attitude still wasn't in the best shape and she'd rather not gain the giants wrath.

"Okay," the purple haired boy shrugged as if her situation made all the sense in the world. His eyes trailed down to her half-finished bento before speaking, "Aka-chin said to tell you to come to the game tonight."

 _Do not shoot the messenger, do not shoot the messenger,_ her mind chanted on repeat.A weary hand came up and Hana waved at Murasakibara in consent. His purple eyes followed the movement before a tiny frown casted over his face.

"You're angry," his statement was blunt and Hana quirked an eyebrow at him. That was awfully quick of him, she hadn't expected any of them to pick up on her mood swing.

Her voice came out rougher then she intended, "What makes you think that?"

"Mura-chin always talks, but you aren't right now," his frown morphed into the semblance of a pout, "It's weird."

"And that makes me angry?" Hana scoffed before grabbing her bento and handing into the giant, "Here. You've been eyeing it since you got here."

The speed at which Murasakibara moved would put a cheetah to shame. One moment he was standing above her and the next he was sitting on the ground beside her. Examining the contents, Murasakibara turned to her, "Thanks Mura-chin."

Again, Hana didn't respond. Instead, she leaned back on her hands and lifted her face toward the sky. The heat felt good and as she closed her eyes, Hana urged herself to relax. A few seconds passed before her peace was interrupted by loud chewing sounds and she let out a forlorn sigh, _slow breaths. Just take slow breaths._

Murasakibara's noises faded away, but then Hana was startled by a loud crinkling noise in front of her face. Blinking an eye open, Hana came face to face with an open bag of chips. Said chips were connected to an arm, which was connected to a body, which was connected to a very impatient looking Murasakibara.

His eyes were locked on her face when he spoke, "I don't like it when you're grumpy. Eat, it makes people feel better."

"Uhm," Hana tried to stall, but the chips just came closer to her face, "Okay, thanks."

Reaching a tentative hand into the bag, Hana removed a few chips. Murasakibara hummed in pleasant approval before bringing the chips back to himself. The two continued in relative silence with Hana shooting her giant friend wary looks each time she brought a chip to her mouth. She'd been under the impression Murasakibara didn't like to share his food.

Bringing another chip to her mouth, Hana was startled by a hand landing on top of her head. Instead of squeezing her brains out like she feared, Murasakibara's hand gently petted her hair. Hana swallowed nervously at the action, "Uhm, Murasakibara-san?"

"Hmmm?"

"What are you doing?" The petting quit for a second at her question, but Murasakibara just trailed his hand down and played with the ends of her hair. Her back arched at the sudden movement and Hana turned to stare at him in accusation, "That tickles!"

"I'm making Mura-chin feel better," he twirled a strand of hair around his finger, "I like it better when she smiles."

Her face erupted at that. Full out volcano. Hands twitching in her lap, Hana didn't know whether she wanted to bury her face into the ground or smack the giant on top of the head for causing this reaction. Settling for something in the middle, Hana brought a hand up to cover her eyes, "Murasakibara-san."

A tug on her hair accompanied the complaint. Glancing to the side, Hana raised an eyebrow at the frowning boy. Murasakibara's voice was petulant when he spoke, "No, -san."

"What, why?" She hadn't meant to be offensive, in fact the opposite.

"It's too stuffy."

"…Stuffy," Hana deadpanned, "You didn't listen when I told you not to call me _Mura-chin."_

"Hana-chin?"

" _No._ "

"Okay then," Murasakibara nodded his head in self-assurance, "You'll call me Murasakibara."

A huff escaped her nose and Hana rolled her eyes to the sky, "I was trying to remain polite with at least _some_ of you. But whatever, Murasakibara it is."

Large fingers curled into her hair and Murasakibara let out a hum, "Good."

The atmosphere became comfortable and Hana could feel herself relaxing. It was quite a pleasant sensation and she tilted her head closer to Murasakibara. As his fingers continued to rub in slow circles, her eyes began to close. Losing the battle to sleep, Hana's mind shut down and her body titled toward Murasakibara's.

One purple eyebrow rose at the added weight on his shoulder. Removing his hand from her hair, he poked at her forehead, "Mura-chin?"

No response.

"Are you asleep?" No response again. Ceasing his poking, Murasakibara leaned back on his hands. Mura-chin's body leaned back with him and he let out a huff. Staring straight ahead for a few moments, Murasakibara finally shrugged his shoulders and lowered his back to the dirt. It was always a good time for a nap.

An hour later, Hana awoke to a very pleasant sensation of warmth. Whatever her dad had washed her pillow in had really done the job and Hana snuggled further into the vanilla scent. Bringing her arm up, she tightened it around her pillow and squeezed herself closer. _This is great…_

Everything was going smoothly until her pillow squeezed her back. Jolting out of her half slumber, Hana flicked her eyes open and looked at her pillow in incredulity. Her pillow wasn't supposed to be white and blue… Terrified, green eyes trailed up to see who she'd fallen asleep on. _Awh, you've got to be kidding me._

That was Murasakibara, obviously. His hands were crossed behind his head and a tiny snore was escaping his mouth every few seconds. His uniform was wrinkled from Hana's sleepy assault and Hana couldn't stop the blush that overcame her. This, this was definitely inappropriate. Shaking her head, she forced herself to get under control. Freaking out wasn't going to change anything.

From the lack of sound in the courtyard, Hana assumed that they'd slept through the remaining lunch period. Which was _terrific;_ note the sarcasm. If she wasn't careful, she'd up her school status to delinquent. An image of Akashi had her shivering at the thought. _Uphold our reputation,_ he'd say with a terrifying smile, _or do you need another lesson?_

A snore broke her out of her nightmare and Hana peered down at Murasakibara. Since she'd got off him, his body had twisted into itself. Now the giant was curled up into a ball and Hana deadpanned. _It really shouldn't be legal for such a fearsome creature to look, so… cute._

Reaching a finger out, Hana nudged his nose, "Murasakibara?"

Zip, zilch, nada. Murasakibara didn't even acknowledge her poke and Hana let out a frustrated noise. As she brought her hand out to poke him again, Hana heard footsteps coming up behind her. Her exasperation multiplied ten-fold, _how much bad luck can I have? Seriously._

"Hello," she didn't recognize the voice, but they sounded stern, "Why aren't you two in class?"

Shooting a glare at the sleeping boy in front of her, Hana turned around to address the person. She was greeted by a nondescript looking disciplinary member and Hana's mouth formed a well-practiced excuse, "Oh thank you! I found him here on my way to the bathroom!"

The boy's eyes widened at that, "Is he asleep?"

"No, I don't think so," Hana brought a hand up to her mouth in faux worry, "I tried to wake him up, but I couldn't. I think he might have lost consciousness."

"Oh, alright," The disciplinary member seemed to be out of his element and Hana felt a tinge of amusement, "He should probably be escorted to the nurse."

"Right! But," bringing her hands in front of her chest, Hana wrung them nervously, "Would you please help me? I'm just too small to lift him… I wouldn't want to distract from your duties though!"

"Uhm," the boy blushed and Hana's inner smirk grew, "No… that's, uhm, alright. I can do it. Thank you for looking out for your fellow students—"

"Oh, it was no problem!" Hana climbed to her feet and bowed, "I'm just glad that you came to help! Thank you!"

The boy stuttered before he bent down and lifted one of Murasakibara's arms over his shoulder. As he tried to stand, he leaned to the right from the excess weight. The boy's eyes grew even wider as he realized what he just volunteered for, "I'll just—ugh, take him to the nurse then. You should head to class."

Offering him a happy grin, Hana waved as the boy turned around. His body was bent to the side and Murasakibara's sleeping form was draped over him humorously. Every few steps he took were forced into stumbles as the boy worked to carry Murasakibara to the nurse. A few long moments passed before Hana had a belated thought, _I should probably tell someone…_

After texting Kuroko, she brought a hand up to scratch the back of her head guilty, "Awh man, I'm terrible."

* * *

Hana starred at the brightly lit stadium, experiencing a sense of déjà vu. This was where it all started, her meeting with Kiyoshi, her dinner with Kuroko, her harrowing experience with Akashi and now she was here again. Just like the first time, Hana felt a tightness in her gut. She'd learned not to ignore these feelings by now and Hana knew something was going to happen today. Whether it be good or bad remained to be determined.

Watching the crowd around her, Hana merged into it and made her way into the gym. A loud cacophony of sound greeted her and she winced. The community was really eating Teiko's success up and Hana had never seen such a large crowd before. Behind her, people were pushing and shoving as they made their way to the seats. Merging off, Hana walked toward the first-string grouping.

Akashi was at the lead with Nijimura shadowing him. The brightly colored grouping of her friends surrounded him and Hana was once again struck with déjà vu. So much time had been spent watching them as enemies and now here she was, on the front line. As she came to them, the first one to see her presence was Momoi and the perky managed came forward with a smile.

"Ima-chan!" Ignoring Hana's gawk, Momoi pulled the girl into a hug, "I've been waiting for you!"

"Ima-chan…" Hana echoed in disbelief, "No, that's not gonna fly."

"Everyone on the team has a nickname! Besides, I think it's cute!"

"I'm not on the team, Momoi-san…"

Hana's contradiction was ignored as Momoi pulled her toward the rest of the team. Silently, Hana cursed the other manager as everyone turned to stare at her. Nijimura looked curious and Hana wasn't sure if that was a good thing… that boy was almost as scary as Futabatei. Meanwhile, Midorima gave her a nod, Murasakibara waved a slow hand, and like usual, Kuroko was nowhere to be seen. Some of the other first stringers gave her a once over before Hana was startled by a firm chest smushing her face.

"Imamura-chan! You came!" Kise's arms wrapped around her and picked her up. Resigning to her fate as a doll, Hana hung on for the ride. There was just no use fighting it.

"Oi, Kise," Aomine called from the bleachers and Hana caught sight of a smirk crossing his face, "You're going to break her."

Kise's chest rumbled with his reply, "Don't be jealous, Aomine-cchi!"

No one noticed Hana's wince at the words, her mind filling with images of an irate Kitano. When Kise _finally_ let her go, Hana stumbled away from him before shooting him a glare, "Don't do that."

Kise's response was lost by Akashi walking up to her with a pleased expression, "Thank you for coming, Imamura."

"No problem," _not like I had a choice, but whatever._ Hana gave the captain a cursory glance before continuing, "So, uh—What do I do?"

She didn't notice the expressions of disbelief the team pulled, too distracted by Akashi's raised brows. The redhead let out a soft chuckle, "My apologies. I'm assuming I didn't make the directions clear enough?"

Hana shrugged, "You said to talk to the reporters. Which ones?"

"Preferably all of them," Akashi lips tilted upwards at Hana grimace, "But for today, I believe you should focus on the local news network. They're the most important."

"…. Shouldn't I talk to the ones that _aren't_ important?" Her statement made a few of the braver teammates chuckle and Hana caught Nijimura's brow raise in interest. _Great, just what I wanted. More attention._

Ignoring her, Akashi continued, "Remember our lessons, please. Would you mind escorting her, Nijimura?"

 _Oh no, nope, nope._ Hana felt a sweat start down her spine as the older teen gave an agreement. Shooting a desperate look to Momoi, Hana followed after the former captain. In the background, she heard Kise call out a _way_ too cheery "good luck!" and Hana shot him the finger. Aomine's chuckles overpowered Kise's resulting whines.

"So, Imamura-san?" Nijimura broke Hana out of her silence and she shot him a wary look, "I'm Nijimura Shuzo, but I'm guessing you already knew that."

"Yeah," Hana swallowed as she worked to keep pace with Nijimura's long legs, "I've heard a lot about you." _Smooth, way to be creepy._

Instead of being freaked out, Nijimura huffed, "I could say the same about you. You must be pretty brave to talk back to Akashi like that."

"Or stupid," Hana countered, "Take your pick."

"Huh," her companion chuckled under his breath, "You're alright, kid."

"I'd say the same, but you called me a kid. Lost a couple points there," she retorted. For some reason, Hana felt comfortable with this formidable boy. Unlike the miracles, his presence wasn't overwhelming and her nerves had soothed themselves out. An odd reaction for a boy with a violent past, but hey, she couldn't judge.

"You'll keep them on their toes, alright."

"Wait, woah," Hana stumbled in her steps, "What's that mean?"

Nijimura didn't respond, but he had a small grin and Hana didn't approve. _I feel like that was a mixed message,_ her eyes narrowed on his back, _what's he trying to imply?_ He continued to lead Hana forward until they were a few feet away from a chattering reporter. Turning back to her, Nijimura smirked, "This is where I leave you. Good luck, kid."

"Not a damn kid," Hana huffed at his retreating back, "… Rainbow-senpai."

Turning back to the reporter, Hana let out a deep breath. She could do this. It was just a man with a camera. Who cared if she was on TV? _Me, I care. I care a lot._ Bringing a hand up to her hair, Hana smoothed her pony tail out nervously. It was now or never. Lifting her chin up, Hana advanced.

"Hello!" She made her voice overly cheery, "Are you here to report the Nationals?"

"Uhm," The man shot his coworker a dubious expression, "Yeah, sweetheart. Sorry, but we can't let you talk on air—"

"I'm sorry," Hana's smile turned chilled at the demeaning tone, "We must have made a miscommunication. I'm working in the journalism club at Teiko and it's my responsibility to help all the reporters in their analyzations," channeling Akashi, she continued, "Are there any questions you might need answered?"

The man and camera man blanched at once. The reporter brought out a notepad and Hana was pleased by the shaking of his hands. Clearing his throat, the man began, "Yeah—on the newly famous, Generation of Miracles, how are they expecting to handle the competition?"

In the blink of an eye, Hana smothered her intimidating expression and gave the camera a smile, "Well, like all teams, they have the highest hopes of success."

The reporter gave a look to his camera man before turning back to Hana in weariness, "Wonderful! How has the new captain, Akashi Seijuro, reacted to his team's reputation?"

"Akashi-san is a fantastic captain and is exceedingly proud of his teammates," Hana tilted her head and tried to project cute manager vibes. Judging from the terrified expressions on the two men, she didn't do great. _Oh well_ , she continued, "Our reputation is a testament to how strong our players are. As such, I do believe Akashi-san is happy with it."

"Alright," the reporter continued shakily, "Teiko has several star players; can you tell me about them?"

 _Oh yes,_ Hana cackled mentally, _I can do that._ Bringing her arms behind her, Hana grinned up at the two men, "Well, our ace, Aomine-san is quite a spectacular player and rivals some of the best-known NBA stars…." And on and on Hana went.

By the time the reporter had called an end to the interview, Hana was exhausted by the amount of bullshit she'd spewed. The only plus was that Akashi would surely be happy with her. It had been a pain to talk to the man and Hana was loathing more future encounters with reporters. Next time, she'd probably change the game up and scare them all away before the questions started.

As she meandered back toward the first-string players, Hana would stop by and occasionally spew some more crap to different reporters. _Well, I'm definitely improving Teiko's reputation,_ Hana deadpanned at the look of fear on a reporter's face, _I'm not sure fear is a good motivator, but whatever works I guess._ Ending another session, Hana had the delayed realization that she should never be a journalist.

When Hana finally made her way to the team, she blinked at the scoreboard. Teiko was winning, of course, but today they were _dominating._ Transferring her gaze onto the court, she watched as Aomine raced up and down, leaving the other team in the dust. Eyeing the oppositions jersey, Hana tried to remember their name. As Aomine scored another two points, she finally remembered. _Kamikazi…_

Glancing away from the game, Hana made her way to Momoi and the benched players. Momoi looked up at her with a shaky smile, "Hey, Ima-chan. How'd it go?"

"Pretty good, I guess. I didn't spill any information," Hana shrugged and plopped down beside her friend, "Am I even allowed to be out here?"

"Akashi-kun doesn't mind," Momoi offered before transferring her eyes down to her notebook, "You've missed a lot."

"Really?" Hana was surprised and glanced back to the game curiously, "It looks like every other game you guys play."

"Aomine-kun knows someone on the other team…" Momoi's voice trailed off into a soft whisper, "It hasn't gone very well. He was hoping for an opponent to match his new strength."

Looking back to the game, Hana focused in on Aomine. He was playing hard and scoring shot after shot, but his face was etched in a permanent frown. Hana flinched at the sight, "He looks… so unhappy?"

Momoi was silent for a moment before her voice whispered out, "He is," Momoi eyed Hana, "I'm sorry, Ima-chan, but I've got to focus on the game now."

"Yeah," Hana responded, slightly dazed, "I get it. No issues, Momoi-san."

The game continued in Teiko's favor. Kamikazi was ruined and their players defeated as their team was stomped into the ground. As the final buzzer sounded, Aomine stormed into the locker room without a glance back. In reaction, Hana had stood, but a gentle hand pulled her back down and she relaxed beside Momoi. Her green eyes trailed away from the locker room to rest on the score board and Hana frowned, _169 to 81…_

At the end of the night, Akashi congratulated Hana on how she handled the reporters and informed her to report for the rest of Nationals. Which she did. Unfortunately, the remainder of Nationals continued in much the same way. Now, a new Aomine was on the court and there was no mercy for his opponent's. Teiko won at Nationals, again, but this time a new predator had been born.

If only Hana had known that was the beginning of the end.

* * *

One blessing came from her impromptu appearance on the TV screen. Hana had just arrived at school and was on the way to class when a body stepped into her path. Startled, she stopped and trailed her eyes up to the persons face and shining head. As her heart began to speed up in hyperawareness, Hana whispered nervously, "Kitano?"

"Hey," Kitano brought a hand up to his mouth and rubbed, "How have you been, Hana-chan?"

"You…" Her voice remained soft and Hana peered up at him with wide eyes, "You're talking to me now?"

Wincing, Kitano nodded, "Yeah. I'm- really sorry about what I said…"

"Really?" Hana trailed off before her eyes narrowed on his chest. In a flash, she had punched Kitano in the stomach and as he kneeled over, Hana growled, "You asshole! What took you so damn long!"

"Ow," Kitano whined out as his hands cradled his stomach, "I wish you wouldn't do that."

"Next time it'll be your dick!" Hana stomped forward and shoved Kitano to his butt, "Do you have any idea how worried I was!"

"Shit- Hana-chan! Stop!" Kitano dodged her slapping hands, "I'm trying to apologize here!"

"I don't want an apology! I just want to beat your ass!"

"Do that later! I spent all night planning this- Ow! Hana!"

"Apologize later! Let me get my anger out!"

"Hell no!"

"If you run, I'll catch you!"

Fifteen minutes later, a roughed-up Kitano was sitting with Hana on the entry way steps. Students were walking up and sending the duo curious looks, but both teens ignored everyone but each other. Most of Hana's irritation had faded away with her relentless punches and Kitano had sprawled out comfortably beside her. His hand was rubbing a large bruise on his forehead and Kitano shot Hana a glare, "You didn't have to hit me so hard."

"Yes, I did," Hana retorted and plucked a stick out of her hair, "I've got to get through your thick skull somehow."

"Great," Kitano deadpanned, "Now that I'm beaten to all hell, can I apologize?"

"Yes, you may."

Dragging his hand down his face, Kitano looked to the sky, "I'm sorry about what I said. I was pissed, obviously, but I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

"Did Iseri put you up to this?" Her concern was warranted, Hana wouldn't put it past Iseri to force them to compromise. There was this one time he'd even locked them together in a closet. Hana didn't like to remember it.

Kitano shook his head with a chuckle, "Nah, he's been on my ass though."

"Good for him," Ignoring Kitano's confused look, Hana prodded further, "So you actually feel sorry or is this just to appease your guilt?"

"A bit of both, to be honest."

At this, Hana went silent. She wasn't mad per say, more betrayed then anything. They had gotten in plenty of fights in the past, but he had never waited such a long time to apologize. That was what was bothering her the most. With a frown, Hana looked up to him, "Why the hell did you take so long?"

Kitano paused for a moment, "…I wasn't sorry at first."

"Great," Hana drawled, "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"It should!" Kitano argued before letting out a loud sigh, "Don't you want it to be sincere? Isn't that what girls like?"

"I'd prefer to just punch you and move on."

"Let me finish," rubbing his chin, Kitano looked to the ground, "You know I don't like those guys, same reason you didn't."

Exchanging eye contact, Kitano and Hana spoke in sync, "Torio."

"Yeah," Kitano continued, "Anyway, I guess I was jealous and pissed. It was a weird combo, I've got to tell you. It felt like you abandoned us or some stupid shit."

"Okay then," Hana frowned at the crappy explanation, "What made you rethink everything?"

"Watching you on TV last night," this time he let out a loud laugh, "Hana-chan! You sucked!"

"How does that make you rethink anything?! And I didn't suck, asshole!" For a moment, Kitano was silent and Hana rolled her wrist, urging him on.

"It made me realize how much I missed you," he looked to the ground sheepishly before glancing back up with mischievous eyes, "And yes, you did! It was horrible!"

With a growl and a blush, Hana lunged, "Kitano!"

The conversation continued in much the same manner. Kitano teased Hana about her _supposedly_ terrible performance and Hana would return each comment with a strong punch or slap. By the end, Hana was a laughing mess and Kitano was nursing several new bruises with a smile. They'd walked to practice together and Hana would never forget how relieved the rest of her teammates looked.

When questioned, Kitano tried to explain to everyone what he'd been thinking. His explanation didn't make sense for anyone else, but in a weird way Hana got it. He was sorry for _what_ he said, but not how he felt. She could tell he was still annoyed with her association with first-string, yet he'd hold his tongue from now on. At least, everyone hoped so.

Oh well. If it happened again, violence would be the best solution.

* * *

If life was a fairytale, everything would have fixed itself by the time Kitano apologized. Well to be correct, for half her life, Kitano's apology had fixed everything. The relationship between second string teammates was just as strong as it had been and Hana couldn't be happier.

Next week; Futabatei, Saiki, and Kajiwara were planning to announce their retirement and the next captain. There was a betting pool going with half of the members voting for Kitano and the other for Iseri. For shits and giggles, Hana had put her name down too. So far, she had three votes. She suspected one was the work of Coach, but she had no proof.

And one couldn't forget the epic surprise party they were planning.

Unfortunately, for the other half of her life, things weren't going so well. Hana had grown to view all the miracles as friends and, by god, it hurt to watch them. Watching Kuramoto-sensei lecture, Hana recalled when she'd walked Momoi to practice one afternoon.

 _The two girls hadn't talked much as they walked. Momoi seemed to have something on her mind and Hana didn't know how to broach the topic. The despair lining Momoi's face was a dramatic change to usual cheerfulness and Hana hated the sight of it. As they finally came to stand in front of the gym, she opened her mouth._

" _Momoi-san? Are you okay?" Hana's tone was wary. She didn't have a right to intrude on something that wasn't her business, but this was her friend dammit, she was worried.  
_

" _I'm okay, Ima-chan," Momoi's voice hadn't sounded okay, but Hana didn't comment, "Actually, if you see Aomine-kun could you check on him for me?"_

" _Yeah," her answer had been automatic, "Isn't he in practice though?"_

 _The smile Momoi gave her was painful, "Aomine-kun hasn't been to practice since October."_

 _With that, Momoi had pushed the doors open and retreated into the gymnasium. Outside, Hana stood gaping like a fish, "…but, that was a month ago?"_

 _She'd spent an hour looking for Aomine, but had no luck and eventually gave up._

Back to the present, Hana was fiddling with her pencil as she stared down at her math classwork. She'd like to say all the trouble was Aomine skipping out on practice, but something much worse had happened. She didn't know the whole story; no one wanted to talk about it and Hana had asked _everyone._ It had just happened one day and never went away.

 _It was a Wednesday and Hana had got out of practice early. In a fit of nostalgia, she was heading to the first-string's practice. Since Aomine began his new habit of skipping practice, tensions had been tight between all her brightly colored friends. She suspected something had happened between Kuroko and Aomine, but all her questions into the subject had been shot down. As she made her way down the dimly lit hallway, Hana spotted Midorima's back and sped up her steps._

" _Midorima!" Her voice echoed in the hall and the green headed boy turned to acknowledge her._

" _Imamura," his voice was strained and Hana's steps stumbled at his tone, "What are you doing here?"_

" _I was going to come visit you guys—"_

" _Now is not a good time," Midorima cut her off and Hana froze in her steps. He'd never sounded that frustrated with her before._

" _Sorry," she gave him a regretful smile, "I just missed you guys, haven't seen you in a while."_

 _His face flashed in a sense of understanding before Midorima's eyes shadowed over, "We haven't had time for distractions."_

 _Now that comment stung. Repressing her flinch, Hana offered him a guilty smile, "Sorry I guess… I didn't mean to distract you guys."_

 _If Midorima was going to respond, it was cut off by the door on the other end of the hallway opening. The door opened and Midorima and Hana both turned to look at the intruder. A head of red hair stepped into the hallway before lifting their head and Hana's gasp echoed in the silence. It was those eyes._

 _Akashi made his way down the hall, ignoring the tension. As he came to pass Midorima, his dual colored eyes flashed to his face, "Shintaro."_

" _Akashi," Midorima responded to the greeting. In the background, Hana was still frozen as she stared at Akashi's eyes in horror. The redhead turned his gaze onto her and Hana didn't appreciate the condescending smile._

" _Hana," His eyes sparked as she recoiled, "It's a surprise to see you."_

 _There was sandpaper in her mouth and Hana couldn't force a reply. Apparently, Akashi didn't need one as he gave her one last sharp smile before continuing. Her body didn't move until she heard the door open and close, signifying his departure._

" _His eyes…" Hana's voice trailed off, "What happened to Akashi-san?"_

 _Midorima's voice was sharp when he finally responded, "That's not Akashi anymore."_

" _-What?" Her tongue was tied in her mouth, "What are you talking about, Midorima?"_

" _I don't have time to discuss this," Midorima turned away at her question and stepped forward. His voice reached her ears right before the door opened, "As I said, we do not have time for distractions."_

 _Left in the silence of the empty hallway, Hana gaped after Midorima. There was a pain in her heart and she couldn't figure out why. Not to mention the terror still running through her veins at Akashi's appearance. A shaky hand came to cover her mouth as she glanced back down the hallway. Everything had changed and Hana wasn't sure where she resided on the new battlefield._

Hana zoned back into reality as the bell rung. Glancing down at her paper, her eyes furrowed at the jumbled notes she was left with. Her wandering mind had turned them into gibberish and Hana was left wondering if they were on linear algebra or calculus. A glance to her right showed Kuroko had already begun to pack his bags and Hana rushed to do the same. The sounds of the emptying classroom buzzed in her mind as she shook off her memories.

Beside her, Kuroko had stood up and was waiting patiently at the head of the classroom. Shoving the jumble of notes into her backpack, Hana slung it over her shoulder and made her way toward him. The two began the walk in silence. Her mind was begging her to question Kuroko about the new events, but Hana couldn't articulate the words.

"Kuroko-kun," she swallowed the question in favor of remaining polite, "How have you been?"

"I've been well, Imamura-chan. How about you?" The reply sounded automatic and Hana's smile turned defeated. _Is there any point in questioning him?_

"Pretty good," she forced her mouth into a happy grin, "We're planning a party this weekend for the third years. Did you guys do anything when Nijimura and everyone retired?"

"I'm afraid not," Kuroko's blue eyes glanced over at her in contemplation, "You have a good team, Imamura-chan. I hope you have fun at the party."

"I know, they're pretty great," the flash of pride she felt at the compliment was diminished by the underlying message of Kuroko's words, "Your team is great too; you've all got a really strong bond."

Her friend grew silent and Hana worried she'd said something wrong. The sound of footsteps was all she heard until Kuroko's voice broke the silence, "Bonds can be easily broken."

Blood chilling at his words, Hana turned to him with an inquisitive expression, "What? What do you mean?"

"Nothing of importance; my apologies for worrying you," Kuroko's gaze didn't meet her own, "Enjoy your practice, Imamura-chan."

Startled by the change of pace, Hana shoot a quick look behind her. Yep, there was the reserve gym entrance. She hadn't realized how quickly they'd arrived. Darting back around to face Kuroko, Hana faltered at what greeted her. Kuroko was gone.

That pesky pain in her heart came back as Hana trailed her eyes over the empty hallway. Ever since they had started the habit of walking to practice together, Hana had usually ended the walk with a hug. But today, the tradition was broken. Hana closed her eyes and released a tense breath, _don't overthink it._ With a new sense of calmness, she turned around and pushed the doors open.

The sight of her team and their lively behavior brought a grin to her face and Hana relaxed into the crazy atmosphere. Even if everything else was falling apart, she still had her guys.

* * *

Despite the growing tension within his team, Akashi still ordered her to come to their games. Since his new personality change, Hana suspected he got a sense of pleasure from ordering her around. Those heterochromatic eyes were stalking her nightmares these days. The orange and red combination was so intimidating, yet it could drag you into its depths if you weren't careful.

She had tried to push the fear away because this was _Akashi._ Yes, he was terrifying, but Hana knew there was more to him underneath all the layers of refinement he wore. But, this wasn't the Akashi she had come to know. This was a new person, like Midorima had said.

Today was the second day of the district championship and Hana was making her rounds with various reporters. Akashi had ordered her to go with the command of not answering any unneeded questions, which was proving to be quite bothersome. Honestly, what questions qualified as unneeded or not? _Well,_ she amended as she walked, _that one lady was curious about Kise's favorite shoe size… that's probably unneeded._

After talking to another reporter, Hana stood at the sidelines and watched the game continue. It was terrible. Not because Teiko was losing, god no, _one could only hope;_ but the opposing team was being destroyed, which normally wasn't a huge deal. They destroyed _everyone._ Yet, this was more than physical destruction, the miracles were crushing their souls.

Kise was laughing as he stole the ball from the offensive player and Hana watched as the other boy's face crumbled. As Kise raced down the court, he jokingly swatted the ball to Aomine who, without moving from his spot, shot it right into the net. The degrading pattern continued with Midorima once he got possession of the ball. Without a glance to the two defensive players in front of him, the bespeckled boy lifted his hand up and shot. Even from half court, the ball went in.

The cuddly giant, Murasakibara, was dominating the defense. Every time the other team came close to Teiko's goal, he would just lift a large hand and _grab_ the ball out of their own. The last player, Akashi, was the most ruthless. His new move, the ankle breaker or something, had all the opposing team sprawled out on their asses as they stared at the captain in fear. Closing her eyes, Hana looked away from the massacre.

She reached the bleachers at the same time the half-time buzzer went off. As Hana went to sit down by Momoi, her green eyes warily traced the incoming group of boys. At the other end of the bleachers, Kuroko was doing the same with a blank mask. Kise reached them first.

"Hey, Imamura-chan!" Kise wasn't even breaking a sweat, "How's it going?"

Ignoring how her gut clenched at the sight of everyone, Hana gave the blonde a smirk, "Great, I had one lady ask about your favorite foot size. Got a secret fetish, Kise?"

"Imamura-chan!" Kise balked, "No!"

Aomine made his way over and retrieved a water bottle. Hana didn't see the need; the tan boy didn't look tired at all. Aomine's voice jutted into the conversation, "Wouldn't doubt he does."

"Aomine-cchi~" Kise brought out the fake tears and Hana rolled her eyes, "Why is everyone so mean to me?!"

The two began to argue and Kise's cries got louder. Wincing, Hana turned away. _I don't remember him being that overdramatic, I feel like he's notched it up._ Her eyes trailed back to the court before pausing as they landed on Murasakibara. The tall teen was slumped lazily over a cowering player from the other team. His purple eyes were narrowed on the smaller boy in annoyance and Hana felt her blood boil. _Is he bullying him… What the hell, Murasakibara?_

"Momoi-san," Hana nudged her with an elbow, "Shouldn't someone stop _that_?"

At Hana's tone, Momoi shot her a confused look before trailing it onto the court. The pink haired girl bristled, "Mukkun!"

Hearing his managers shout, Murasakibara strolled away from the teen. The boy hastily climbed to his feet as the giant left and Hana watched him with sympathy. Finally making his way toward the bleachers, Murasakibara sighed, "What is it, Sat-chin?"

"Don't bully the other players," Momoi chastised as she handed Murasakibara a water bottle, "We've been over this!"

"Aka-chin doesn't care," the giant articulated with a yawn, "They're weak and small, anyway."

"It's not right, Mukkun," Momoi's voice continued, but Hana had zoned out. The amount of disgust she'd felt at Murasakibara's statement was overwhelming. Why would he do that to other people? What could he gain out of that?

Her voice spoke before she could stop it, "Why would you do that?"

"Huh, Mura-chin's here?" Murasakibara blinked down at her, "I never noticed."

"Why would you do that," Hana repeated, oblivious to Momoi's concerned look, "He didn't do anything to you!"

For a second, Murasakibara's face pinched in irritation, "He annoyed me. Why do you care?"

"Because, he _didn't do anything-_ "

"What's it matter?" Aomine's voice broke Hana off, "We're winning. That guy needs to learn to deal with it or get stronger."

"Yeah, what Mine-chin said," Murasakibara waved a hand in Aomine's direction and Hana felt the bile rise in her stomach. _This is… sickening._ Her eyes trailed over the rest of the team, but no one would meet her eyes sans Akashi and Kuroko.

The redhead stared at her for a moment and Hana had to break eye contact first. Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the referee's whistle and the team began to move again. Now subbed in, Kuroko shoot her a backwards glance as he ran with the other players. Hana turned toward Momoi who offered her a sympathetic smile and her shoulders slumped. With a small twitch of the lips in return, Hana made her way back out to the reporters. _I'm not even going to try._

The rest of the district championship went in much the same way.

As did the rest of the year.

* * *

By the end of second year, her relationship with the miracles had taken a hit. Hana didn't know whether if it still qualified as a friendship or a business relationship. They were cordial to one another in the hallway and Hana would invite Momoi out to lunch every once in a while, but the rest of the relationship had dwindled.

Kuroko would still walk her to practice, but he never stayed around long enough for a full conversation. Kise would still greet her with enthusiasm every time she showed up at their games, but Hana suspected it to be forced. Aomine hadn't had a full conversation with her in months and now the two only spoke on the few occasions they were left alone together.

Midorima was much the same, but he'd inform her of her horoscope on some of the better days. Sometimes, Murasakibara would just pop up and Hana was thankful for that, even if the conversation was mostly one-sided. Finally, her relationship with Akashi had circled into a complete 360. All the progress she had made with the boy over the summer was gone and Hana was back to viewing him in fear.

Like she was doing now, most of her time was spent with Uoya and her second-string teammates. Unless she was with Momoi or at the first-strings games, Hana was with her team. They had grown a lot during the rest of second year and Iseri had been promoted captain, much to Kitano's dismay. The party for the third years had been a raging success and the three of them would still come to practice occasionally.

"Oh, come on!" Kitano threw his hands in the air as he walked, "Lebron James has _nothing_ on Michael Jordan!"

"Yes, he does-" Uoya was cut off _again._

"Jordan has won _six_ NBA championships! What about James?" Kitano smirked at Uoya's glare, "Yeah that right, only four!"

"If you keep talking about this, I'm leaving," Iseri stated bluntly and Hana, who was riding on his back, nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, boo you," Kitano scoffed and twirled around to face Iseri. Walking backward, Kitano stuck his tongue out, "You're just pissed you don't know what we're talking about."

"I know what you're talking about!" Hana chirped, "Doesn't mean it's not annoying!"

"I have no interest in American Basketball," Iseri added with a pointed look.

Uoya laughed from up ahead, "Why? Because they aren't cute enough for you?"

"Awh, look at you!" Hana cooed at her best-friends sass, "You're growing up so well!"

"I wish you would stop teaching him," Iseri deadpanned as he jostled Hana in retaliation, ignoring her squeal, "And yes, they aren't cute enough. I'm perfectly happy with the one basketball player I have."

"Iseri!" Kitano groaned before he sped up his pace. As Kitano pouted, Hana and Uoya exchanged grins at the sight of his blush, "Don't say stuff like that around them!"

Any response someone would have made was stopped by the clearing of a throat behind them. Iseri turned around to address the person, bringing Hana along for the ride. As she caught sight of the head of blond hair, Hana heard Kitano growl in the background then he was being shut up by Uoya's smack.

Eyeing the three people around her, Kise brought a nervous hand up to his hair and ruffled it, "Sorry to interrupt, I was just wondering if I could take to Imamura-chan really quick?"

Trying to ignore the hope blossoming in her chest, Hana jumped off Iseri's back and came toward Kise with a grin, "Yeah, no problem! Did you want to head over there—"

"Ah, no," Kise smiled back at her before trailing his eyes back over her teammates, "I didn't mean to interrupt. I just had something to give back to you."

"Oh," Hana felt the hope get squashed into her chest, "Alright?"

Instead of responding, Kise brought a hand out before rustling in his pants pocket. His hand returned a moment later and Hana's breath caught at the sight of the necklace wrapped around it. Sheepish gold eyes blinked at her and Kise explained, "My manager told me not to wear it anymore and I'd feel really bad if I lost it, so I thought I'd just give it back to you."

"What—I mean, are you sure," Hana forced her voice not to crack, "I won't mind if you don't wear it."

"Ah," Kise brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck, "I'm really bad with jewelry…"

Taking the excuse as denial, Hana reached a slow hand out and grabbed the necklace from Kise's palm. Her fingers scrapped against his hand and she tried to ignore how warm it was, but even the metal was warm as she brought it to her chest. With a grimace, Hana gave Kise a slow once over, "I heard you started modeling more?"

"Mhmm," his hands hung awkwardly at his sides. The movement shocked her and Hana was lost at how much their relationship could change in a few months, "I'll see you at the next game, okay? I've got to head over to a photo shoot."

"Yeah," her voice trailed off, "See you later, Kise."

"Bye, Imamura-chan," Kise gave her a practiced grin before turning back around and walking the way he came. As Hana watched him walk away an arm drifted over her shoulder and Hana tilted her head to meet Kitano's gaze. Behind her, she could hear Uoya talking to Iseri about something, but she could tell what.

"Well, I don't like them even more now," Kitano's arm tightened around her, "You okay, Hana-chan?"

"I'm fine," her lie came easily and Hana turned back around to the rest of the group, "Let's go get that ice cream now."

The three boys exchanged wary looks and Kitano finally shrugged his shoulders, he didn't know what the hell to do. The silence lasted for a few seconds before Uoya bounded over to her and, in a surprise move, swept her up in his arms princess style, "Finally! I thought we'd never get out of here!"

"Uoya! Let me down!" Hana smacked him on the top of the head, "I'm wearing a skirt!"

* * *

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **Naliyu:**_ _ **I'm glad you liked it! Thank you!**_

 _ **Guest:**_ _ **Ah! Thank you, mystery person!**_

 _ **JeyaMendoza : **__**Thank you for another awesome review! And yes, Hana's team is awesome. Sorry about the drama with them this chapter, but it was coming sooner or later. (And yes, it was totally a date but neither of them know it) Thank you again!**_

 _ **ADDBaby**_ _ **: Friendship phase for the win! But, here have some drama! Thank you for your super entertaining reviews and I hope you enjoy the upcoming pain!**_

 _ **RedRaspberries:**_ _ **Thank you for another review! Glad you liked the ending!**_

 _ **AngelicHallows**_ _ **: Yaaas, BlackButler! I'm glad you can't decide, though! Means I'm doing my job right! Thank you for another great review and for pointing out my mistakes! I really appreciate it. (And awh, thank you for the compliment on my writing! It made me smile)**_

 _ **Ebony'N'Ivory**_ _ **Angel**_ _ **: Thank you! That was really sweet!**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, you guys. You are the _best_. So many reviews! Such happiness! That's actually why this is getting posted so early... It was done and you guys made me so happy last chapter that I just had to put it out there. It might not be the best, but here you go. I just want to give a big thank you to all you guys and to jeyamendoza who helped me with some of my plotting issues! Fair warning: This is kind of filler... But it does have a lot of plot reference points in it. Enjoy! (I'm also really tired. I need coffee)**

 **Warnings : Bad language, violence, and poopy editing. **

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

* * *

Full Circle

The start of third year and summer break had been… interesting. She loved her team and everyone on it, but, by god, those boys had some weird ass habits. Similarly to last summer, Hana had rotated her schedule to hang out with a different member of her team every day. Which, was all well and good, but these boys! They drove her _insane._

By the end of summer vacation, Hana had learned a lot about each member. She already knew Uoya's pesky habits, but sometime during the year he'd developed an obsession with _volleyball._ Of all things, freaking volleyball _._ Don't get her wrong. Volleyball is all well and good if you like it, but Hana hated it with the burning passion of a thousand suns.

The worst part was that Uoya had finally improved his accuracy. Which, if it had been in basketball, Hana would have cheered! But, no. _Freaking volleyball._ The amount of times she'd been pelted by the pesky ball was too high to count and she couldn't even hit him back! Out of all sports in the world, volleyball was her Achilles heel. Safe to say, Uoya took a whole lot of pleasure in that turn of events and Hana learned that volleyballs are very hard to pop.

There was one plus side; Teiko didn't have a boys' volleyball team.

On the other hand, Iseri was okay to hang out with. He was quiet, he was mindful, and he was kind of a smartass which is always a plus. But even the new captain had his quirks which came in the form of books. Hana liked books and Iseri liked books. You'd think this was a match made in heaven. _You'd think wrong_.

The complications came in the form of genres. Hana liked romance novels and Iseri did not. Which, still not a huge deal. Except for the fact that Iseri was a lover of science fiction and Hana _hated_ science fiction. Even worse was that Iseri's obsession with science fiction spread all the way to the television. So yeah, the problem was mostly her fault, but you'd have gotten annoyed too if all you ever heard about was some weird alien that could shoot lasers out of his butt.

She will always love Iseri, but Hana swore she would _never_ go to a movie night at his house again. _Never, never, never. So many aliens._

The final contender, Kitano, was the absolute worse. Like on a scale of one to ten of obnoxious habits, Kitano rated at fifty. _Fifty._ Did you know Kitano liked cats? Hana sure as hell didn't. Do you know how many cats Kitano and his family have? _Five. Five freaking cats._ She'd gone to his house once before vowing to never step foot in there again. Frankly, Hana was under the belief that an unhealthy relationship with demons is something you tell your friends.

To be fair, Kitano's family hadn't been too upset with her abrupt departure. Apparently threatening to throw someone's cat out the window isn't a very good first impression. But dammit, that demon had attacked her first.

The other two first years, Sugimura and Yanagawa were too afraid to hang out with her. She tried and by tried, she meant begged. By the end of summer both underclassman had blocked her number.

The only other person Hana had seen over the break was Momoi. God bless Momoi and her wonderful assortment of nail polish. Despite her lack of steady communication with the first-string team, Momoi remained. The wonderful angel of God, as Hana liked to call her. Maybe she should give her a nickname too, like Momoi-sama? … _Nah._

As it was now, Hana was with Momoi and the two girls were laying on Hana's bed with several candy wrappers spread around them. Hana was laying on her stomach watching as Momoi tossed her stuffed bear up in the air. Momoi's pink eyebrows were furrowed and Hana just _knew_ she wouldn't like what the fellow manager was about to say.

"Ima-chan?" Momoi began curiously, "Why is this bear wearing Ki-chan's necklace?"

 _Called it._ Hana debated on how to answer as she rolled the lollipop around with her tongue. She didn't want to start any unnecessary drama with the first-string team, but at the same time she couldn't lie to Momoi. Finally, Hana shrugged, "He gave it back."

"What?" Momoi was so surprised the bear fell on top of her head. Ignoring Hana's chuckle, the pink haired girl gaped, "When did he do that?"

"Before break," Hana rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, "It's alright, Bernard likes it."

"It's not a big deal? But it was a birthday present!"

"Yeah and now it's Bernard's birthday present. Gave it to him last week."

Momoi deadpanned, "Is Bernard the bear?"

"Mhmmm," Hana cracked the lollipop between her teeth, "It's a nice name."

Her room was saturated in silence as Momoi struggled to find words. Finally, the other manger sighed, "Ima-chan, that's a really bad habit."

Hana blinked, "What?"

"You're using humor to deflect the situation," Momoi's voice was assured, "Do you ever register your feelings?"

"Ouch," Hana gave the other girl a pout, "Shoot me in the heart, why don't you?"

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Sighing, Hana rolled over so she could look Momoi in the eye. Hana frowned thoughtfully as she perched her chin on her hands. _I mean, I guess I'm deflecting… Maybe._ Transferring her frown to Momoi's face, she began, "Why are you so damn observant? Hell, I don't know, Momoi. What else can I do with it? We were all friends one day and it's like I wake up the next day and it's all over."

"Have you tried talking to them?" Momoi's voice was understanding and Hana realized the other girl was probably going through the same situation.

"Sorta," Hana flopped her hand back and forth, "I mean I texted Kuroko the other day and we talked for about half an hour. Haven't had much luck with the others."

"It's the same with me," Momoi admitted, "Aomine-kun comes over sometimes, but that's about it."

"Eugh," moaning, Hana rolled back onto her back, "I wish I could just punch them."

"Punch them?" Momoi parroted before leaning over to get more candy and Hana pouted as she grabbed the last lollipop.

"That's what my team does," Hana nodded. _Don't knock it if it works!_

"…I'll remember that."

"Do it," Hana encouraged, "Make sure to film it too."

Momoi's face shifted into a bland look and she raised a pink eyebrow, "We'll see, Ima-chan."

The candy binge continued for another hour before both girls had to call it quits. There was only so much sugar one could eat before it started come back up. Thankfully, neither girl experienced the side effects that night. Although, Hana did wake up with a very suspicious stomach ache the next day.

Other than the carnage of sugar, Momoi and Hana had discussed something else. The two made a halfhearted vow of trying to save their friendship with the rest of the miracles. Realistically, both girls knew it was futile, but they weren't ready to give up yet… well Momoi wasn't. Hana didn't have any false hopes, but if it made her pink haired friend happy, she'd try it.

Even if it hurt.

* * *

Let the fact be clear that Hana _did_ try. She tried pretty damn hard in her opinion. During the basketball games Hana attended for first string, she did her best to talk to _everyone._ This included Akashi, who still scared her shitless, and the temperamental Aomine. Honestly, she doesn't know how Momoi does it. The other manager had to be a reincarnated monk or something.

It was during a game in August that Hana had enough. Okay, she tried man, but damn she was tired. For all his faults, Kise was still pretty easy to get along with as long as Hana ignored his fake smiles. Kuroko was also easy, but he'd always been easy to get along with. Midorima and Murasakibara would warm up to her with bribery; lucky items and snacks respectively. Even Akashi was tolerable… as long as he didn't smile and make Hana practically piss herself. But, Aomine, oh god _Aomine._

This "the only one who can beat me, is me," spiel was getting old freaking quick.

The altercation happened during a game between Teiko and another, smaller middle school. Per their new playing style, the miracles were crushing their opponents. Almost literally in Murasakibara's sense. After finishing her round with reporters, Hana came back to her customary seat beside Momoi. The pink haired girl offered her a smile before turning her focus back onto the game. Hana followed her gaze and watched as Aomine got another foul, something which he'd been doing a lot of lately.

A sharp whistle from their coach had the team pausing before Aomine was sent back to the sidelines. The tan boy's feet stomped the whole way there and Hana had to refrain from rolling her eyes, _stupid testosterone._ Beside her, Momoi grimaced a bit before covering it up with a smile, "Hey, Aomine-kun."

"Satsuki," Aomine acknowledged before dropping down beside Momoi, "What's this teams name?"

Momoi was about to answer, but Hana beat her to it, "You're playing and you don't even know their _name?"_

Aomine barely gave her a glance, "They suck. It's not like it matters."

"Then why'd you ask?" Hana's face twisted into a smirk at outwitting Aomine. She didn't see Momoi bring a hand to her face and sigh.

"So, if we play them again I'll know not to show up."

Her smirk twisting into a scowl, Hana leaned across Momoi and glared, "You're that lazy?"

Adopting her smirk as his own, Aomine spoke, "You should get where I'm coming from."

"What-" Hana didn't like his tone and the hairs on her arm stood on end, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sure your team knows the feeling of being weak."

 _No, he did not just say that._ Hana gawked at him, feeling the blood boil under her skin. _He did, that jack ass really did,_ "Shut your goddamn mouth, Aomine."

"Bah," The ace player leaned back, "I forgot how annoying you were."

Pushing her body forward even more, Hana nearly climbed into Momoi's lap, "And I forgot how much of an _ass_ you were!"

"Ima-chan," Momoi's hand came to rest on her shoulder. Green eyes turned to look at the other manager and Hana faltered at Momoi's pleading gaze, "Please?"

Leaning back into her spot, a soft sigh escaped Hana's mouth, "I've tried, Momoi…" The words for meant for Momoi's ears only, but unbeknownst to Hana, Aomine had stiffened at the defeated tone of her voice. Oblivious, Hana continued, "God, I can't handle this."

"Just until Nationals?" Momoi practically begged and Hana couldn't find it in herself to say no. If Hana gave up now, she'd be leaving Momoi to fend for herself in a team that was slowly breaking apart. Hana wouldn't allow her friend to suffer alone.

"Just until Nationals," Hana agreed after a pause. The arm Momoi looped over her shoulder was enough to solidify her decision. For the time being, Hana forgot about Aomine and the rest of the miracles and just sank into the support Momoi offered her. For now, it was enough.

In his own world, Aomine clenched and unclenched his fists. His navy eyes narrowed on the ground as he listened to the two girls' conversation before they leisurely traveled back onto the court. _Just until Nationals,_ his mind repeated in a sneer. Watching Akashi take down another player, Aomine scowled.

 _She can do what she wants. Why the hell would I care?_

* * *

Having a baker for a dad was a lot of work. He used all the flour, all the milk, all the sugar, and the kitchen was _always_ a mess. Which is why Hana was trudging down the street sweating her ass off in the summer heat. August was a bitch and Hana couldn't wait for winter. _Cold, just like my soul._

Walking into the grocery store was like reaching heaven. So, _cool_. For a second, Hana just looked around the store. It was almost empty except for a few older couples and one group of teenagers. Wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead, Hana wandered toward the dairy section.

Her hand was just reaching for the closest bottle of milk when she felt a person behind her. Thinking it was a mugger, Hana grabbed the milk tightly and prepared to launch it at his face. As green eyes registered the person, her body froze. _It can't be._

"Is that my little flower?" Hana froze. _No way… Here?_

The milk in her hand felt ten times heavier and she only just resisted dropping it to the floor. Two pale arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a sweater clad chest. The chest let out a contented hum and she felt a head of fluffy black hair nuzzle into her cheek.

"I almost couldn't believe it," the voice spoke, "Of all the places to run into my little protégé."

"…Torio?" her voice cracked in disbelief.

"Oh, you dropped the senpai? What happened to your respect?" his voice was honey laid over silk and Hana couldn't stop the embarrassed blush that came with his chastisement. She knew he was only kidding, but fidgeted guiltily anyway.

"But that's not a bad thing," Torio spoke to ease her discomfort, "We've grown out of that student teacher relationship anyway."

"….okay?" she croaked, still in overwhelmed shock. Torio's arms stayed wrapped around her, but tightened at her response. She felt him release a huff against her shoulder and his breathe warmed her skin unnervingly. _He's changed…_

"I'm just messing with you, Flower," his arms twisted her around quickly and he righted her before she fell. Hana's green eyes blinked up at Torio's black ones in bewilderment, _When'd he get his eyebrow pierced?!_

Torio noticed her stare and smiled softly, "You like it? I got it before I entered high school."

"You look older?" she offered, unsure. In fact, everything about him looked more mature. She was used to seeing him in his old outfit of athletic shorts and a headband to keep his hair out of his face. But now… He'd upgraded his wardrobe to some expensive looking sweater with black slacks, _honestly, how is he not dieing_? Torio's red headband was still present, but his hair had grown out and swayed against his shoulders.

Torio's smile grew at her assessment and looked her over just as intensely, "You look older too. I see you let your bangs grow out."

"They kept getting in my eyes…" she trailed off, "What are you doing here?"

"Such enthusiasm," his lower lip jutted out, "But I'm here to get milk, just like you." He gestured to the now forgotten jug in her hand.

"No, why are you really here?" Hana pressed. It was just like Torio to ignore her question, but she wanted answers. No, she needed answers. The boy hadn't contacted her since graduation and now he was suddenly _here,_ adding to the rest of her screwed up life.

"Come on, little flower. Can't you just be happy I'm here?" Hana shot him a look and he smirked in reply. "Fine, fine. Calm your beating heart. My team is competing in Nationals this year and I thought I'd drop by."

Hana stared at him and combed over his expression. She couldn't tell if he was lying or not. Knowing him, he was and this was some sort of twisted test. But… it could be the exact opposite. Maybe he was telling the truth and trying to see if she still trusted him. She settled on a neutral answer, "Okay."

Apparently, this was a good enough answer. Torio's smirk grew and he rested a hand on her shoulder, "I'm glad you remember our lessons. Anyway, I really am here for nationals, but I might have tweaked my story a bit. But you knew that, didn't you?"

"I figured as much," she answered with a cautious undertone. This was all just so sudden… Her whole game had been thrown off.

"Yes. So, I stopped by your house and your father answered. He gave me a right scolding, but I deserved it for leaving my little flower alone for so long," Torio squeezed her shoulder, "Anyway, he told me you went to the grocery store and I decided to track you down. It was just my luck that I came to this one first."

"Well, it's great to see you again," Hana offered, but looked over toward the cereal aisle before continuing, "I missed you."

"How sweet, although I missed you too," her older friend spoke, "I seriously did. No one at school compares to you; they don't call me out on my lies or anything."

"That's because every word you speak is a lie."

"Not true," he squeezed her shoulder good-naturedly. Torio paused, "Or, maybe they are. But in truth, I miss our lessons."

Hana shot him a grimace, "I don't. Those were terrible. You're a sadist, man."

Torio let out a gentle chuckle and laid his chin on her head, "But you loved every minute of it."

"…" Hana glared at him, "Have you turned into a pervert?"

"Only for you, little flower. Only for you," he rubbed his chin against her head affectionately.

"I call bullshit," she deadpanned as she ducked under his arm. Torio let out another soft laugh before strolling after her. He trailed his eyes along her back, raising an eyebrow at her outfit. It seemed she still held onto her horrible fashion taste. Honestly, that shirt looked years old and those _pants_. What was she thinking?

"You've had those pants since first-year," he pointed out. Hana shot him a look over her shoulder and shrugged. "There's a hole. Your panties are showing."

He relished in Hana's squawk of embarrassment and how her hands covered her behind automatically, "They are not! You shit!"

"Just like old times," he sighed out. "Can you believe I actually miss hearing you curse me on a daily basis?"

"What did I call you earlier? A sadist? Do you see why now?"

"Ah," Torio chuckled as he walked beside her, "You've finally gathered a wider vocabulary."

"I forgot how much of a prick you are," Hana grumbled.

"But don't forget," his words came out smoothly, "I taught you everything you know and that includes any possible relation to a prick."

"I hate you. Go back home."

"But I just got here," Torio appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck. He laid his cheek on her head before humming out, "I'm not leaving anytime soon."

"What about that team of yours?" Hana enquired, trying to hide her anxiety from peering eyes. God, how could she have forgotten how overwhelming this boy was? Or, technically he was a man now.

"I'll be here until nationals are over."

"…Really?" She whispered. _Oh shit._

"Mhm," He watched her face pale curiously, "You don't look too happy about that?"

"…Uhm, you see—"

"Oh, I know that look," Torio pointed out as they walked to the cashier, "That's the 'I have something to hide' look."

"Well, I made a couple friends…" Hana ventured warily. _Might as well get the truth out there. If he finds out before I tell him, he'll be pissed._

Torio let out an amused hum, "That's different. I'm guessing I'm not going to be happy about these new friends?"

They walked into the check-out line and Hana watched the cashier eye Torio curiously. He caught on to it too and offered the girl a gentle smile, causing the cashiers face to irrupt into a pretty, pink blush. Hana barely resisted rolling her eyes. _Still a flirt._

"No, you aren't going to be happy." She admitted bluntly, laying her milk out onto the conveyor belt. She pointedly looked away from Torio's intense gaze. In front of them, the cashier continued eyeing them curiously.

"I can only think of a few people that I wouldn't want you to be friends with," Torio's voice was startlingly intense. He continued after a minute, "I'm praying they aren't who I think they are… But knowing you…"

Hana shot him a sharp glare, "Knowing me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Flower, you know what I mean," his serious voice faded away and he replaced it with a gentle tone, "You've always latched onto someone stronger then you. I shouldn't be surprised."

Hana felt like she'd been punched in the gut, even the cashier was giving Torio a shocked look. He smiled at her pleasantly, but included a hint of threat, making her look away. Hana couldn't look at either person's gaze and automatically tossed a wad of bills at the cashier as she spoke the total. The girl's following "Have a nice day", was lost in the wind as Hana hurried from the store. A little bit behind, Torio walked after her steadily, neither slowing down nor rushing up to catch her.

"Hana," Torio spoke out evenly, "I'm not mad. But I'm not happy, you knew this would happen when you told me."

Hana spun around furiously, "I haven't seen you or heard from you in over a _year,_ Torio! You can't waltz in out of the blue and say shit like that! You don't have the right anymore!"

"Hana," his voice was still calm and collected, "I will always look out for you. Even if it means protecting you from your stupid decisions."

"Ugh!" Hana shrieked, "That's what I'm talking about! My 'stupid decisions' are my own! I made them and I don't regret them! I know…"

"You know what, Hana?" Torio's face was blank and his black eyes burning, "So they are who I think they are… You really think _they're_ your friends?"

Hana was about to snap out a reply, but her voice caught in her throat. Last year, she wouldn't have hesitated, but now everything was a mess. Her mouth dried and she looked to the floor in contemplation, _they're still my friends, no matter what they're going through. Right?_

"Good," Torio broke her out of her thoughts, "You're actually thinking about it. I guess you haven't become a mindless puppy."

Hana was so startled by his blunt observation, she let out a choked laugh. She removed her gaze from the floor and looked at her old friend, "You're a dick. God, you are such a freaking dick!" She laughed harder, "Why am I even laughing?"

"I think you're having what most people refer to as a 'mental breakdown'", Torio shrugged lightly, "But I'm not a licensed psychologist."

Her laughter slowly died down and Hana let out a sigh, "I know you hate them… I understand why too. But they aren't that bad."

"Your reaction from earlier seems to disagree with that statement," he stated bluntly, but Hana caught the tail end of an amused smirk.

"No, it's not that. We're just… a little tense right now. That's all," Hana glared at him, "Stop looking so pleased at this!"

"Ah, I did warn you," He reprimanded, seemingly forgoing his earlier annoyance.

"Asshole."

"Calling it like it is," Torio made his way up to her side and slid an arm around her shoulder, "I'm not mad at you. I just think you're naïve."

"Thanks," Hana spat out drily, "Where are you leading me?"

"Your father said I could eat dinner with you all tonight-"

"No."

"And that's why I asked your father first."

One advantage came from having an older friend. Er, sort of friend. Hana wasn't quite sure what label Torio would fall under now. Anyway, back to the advantage. Since Torio was in his second year of high school, that meant he could drive. Which meant _air conditioning._ Hana was basically pressed against the dashboard and she begged the coolness to sink into her bones. It felt so _good._

"You haven't changed much," Torio commented before glancing back to the road, "Although, you're much more talkative."

"You used to bitch at me all the time about being shy," Hana scowled at him as she pressed her cheek against the air vent, "Don't start changing your mind now."

"I'm not quite complaining. It's just strange."

"I've heard," Hana retorted as she lifted her head. A glance at the outside scenery had her quirking a brow, "How did you know I still lived here?"

"I checked before I came," was Torio's response. As she turned to respond, sis hands gripped tight against the wheel before forcing the car into a turn and Hana flailed. _Too fast!_

"You drive like a maniac!"

"I resent that, flower."

The drive continued in the same manner. Torio was an awful driver and Hana could say that with the upmost certainty. When they finally reached her house, he parked the car before stepping out. Reaching a hand for the door, Hana tried to open it only to frown as it stayed locked. A moment later, Torio appeared and opened the door for her with a smile.

"You're treating me like one of your girlfriends," Hana deadpanned, "Stop."

"You are a woman, aren't you?" She couldn't see Torio's face as he walked ahead, but his voice radiated amusement at her expense. Rolling her eyes, Hana let out a huff and slammed the car door behind her. Her companion was much further ahead of her and Hana had a belated revelation.

"Wait!" Her voice called just as Torio opened the door, "I got a dog…"

Hana expected to hear Nūdoru running down the steps and jumping on Torio. She expected to hear a shout of alarm, maybe. What she hadn't expected was for Nūdoru to stop at the door and begin to growl. Hurrying forward, Hana came up behind a startled Torio and stared at Nūdoru in astonishment. _He never growls at people…_

"I'm sorry," her voice began to babble, "He never does this... I don't know what got into him!"

Pushing his hair out of his face, Torio just laughed before kneeling in front of the dog. His hand came forward to rub Nūdoru's nose, "It's fine, flower. He just surprised me."

Instead of letting Torio pet him, Nūdoru jerked his head away before jogging out the door toward Hana. He came to sit at her feet and Hana transferred her wide eyes down to his fuzzy black head, _what the hell?_ As he watched the scene, Torio rose back to his feet before giving Hana a guilty look.

"It seems he doesn't like me," Torio's voice cut across smoothly, "I apologize for angering him."

Absentmindedly, Hana began to pat Nūdoru's head before responding, "It's okay… Let's just head inside and figure out what we're doing tonight."

Torio stepped out of the way with a smile, "Lead the way, flower."

When she passed, Nūdoru followed her steps with a gruff growl at the older teen.

* * *

The walk to the stadium was awkward, to say the least. Hana knew Torio wasn't impressed with her befriending the first-string team, but he had kept his mouth closed until Hana explained her duties. _That_ had prompted a response out of the older teen and the two had begun to argue with one another until Hana had finally decided to leave. Of course, Torio followed her.

"Well," Hana began, "We're here."

Torio hummed as he came to stand beside her, "We are."

"Are—are you coming in?"

"Yes," Torio began to walk ahead and Hana was left to hurry after him. When she reached his side again, he responded, "I'd like to see how you handle everything. Your duties are a lot like mine."

"…Really?" Hana moved out of the way of a wayward teenager, "How so?"

"I help my team in the same way," he answered as the two walked through the doorway. The noise grew in volume and Hana couldn't respond over the noise. A few times, Torio had walked ahead and Hana had gotten separated only for the older teen to come back to retrieve her. After losing her one too many times, he finally grabbed onto her hand to keep her in place.

The crowd thinned out as they got closer to the stadium and Torio led her to the court. The sensation of eyes on her had Hana pausing, but she refused to look and see who was staring at her. Turning back to Torio, Hana gave him a shark-like grin, "Well, I got to go now. You'll be in the stands?"

"You seem much too excited about this," Torio echoed her amusement before glancing over his shoulder at the stairwell to the stands, "Yes, I'll be up there. Is your number still the same?"

"I've kind of learned to like scaring the reporters shitless," Hana shrugged, "It's fun and yeah, still the same."

"Then I'll see you soon," Torio squeezed her hand before he released it. Watching as her old friend merged back into the crowd, Hana let a lost smile cover her face. He was so much older… It was like a completely different person.

Turning back around, Hana made her way over to the miracles. The feeling of eyes on her still hadn't left and now she knew why. Almost everyone on the team was watching her with a quizzical expression and a few of the guys were frowning, mainly Kise, Aomine, and Murasakibara. Ignoring her team, Momoi skipped toward Hana with a smile.

"Ima-chan!" Momoi cooed, "You didn't tell me you got a boyfriend!"

"Ew," Hana deadpanned as she gave Momoi a hug. The two girls latched arms together as they walked toward the rest of first-string. Momoi tugged her over to the bleacher and Hana sat down with a huff, "That's Torio. I've known him since my first year here."

This time, Kuroko was the one to reply, "Torio?"

"Yeah, I told you about him once, remember?"

"I do," Kuroko's voice had a strange edge to it Hana couldn't place, "I wouldn't expect him to join you here."

"Me neither," Hana shrugged as she pulled off her backpack, "I'm about to head out and torture the reporters. Good luck out there, guys."

Poking Momoi in the head, Hana smiled at the other girls resulting squawk. Because of Torio's surprise visit, Hana was in an ecstatic mood and not even the assholes around her could bother it. Well, Kuroko wasn't an asshole… Sort of. She hadn't quite forgiven him for abandoning their hug tradition.

"Hana," _of course I spoke too damn soon._ Akashi's voice continued even though Hana didn't turn around, "I would like to speak to you after this game."

 _Shit, shit, shit. Quadruple shit._ Hana forced her voice to appear neutral when she replied, "Alright."

The whole game was spent in a constant state of anticipation. Her mind couldn't ignore Akashi's parting words and Hana was struggling to find out their meaning. What had she done? Had she finally pissed them off too much? Was she no longer useful? _What the hell did he want?_

Because of her fear, Hana's performance with the reporters was severely lacking. She couldn't force herself to enjoy tormenting them, but she couldn't stop talking to them either since they came to find _her_ now. Not to mention, she was so damned worried she hadn't even looked at the game. _But it's not like it matters._

Making her way toward a blonde reporter, Hana released a deep sigh and urged her hands to stop shaking. _Calm down. Do not let him get to you. Calm. The. Hell. Down._

"Hello," by the time she reached the woman, Hana's voice was the perfect picture of calmness, "Do you need any questions answered?"

The ladies reply helped Hana drown out the rest of her racing thoughts and she sunk into the robotic feeling. No matter what Akashi said, she had a job to do and it needed to be done. As Hana's eyes zeroed in on the woman's red lipstick, her mouth continued to work without conscious thought. The rest of the interviews passed in the same way.

Forty minutes later, the crowd had mostly cleared out. Hana was still talking to a reporter and trying to make the conversation last as long as possible. Anything to avoid the inevitable. Unfortunately, the guy had to leave and Hana was left to suffer her fate. As she turned around, the sensation of walking to the guillotine creeped upon her. _Which makes sense,_ _because that's basically what it is_.

When she came over, Akashi was waiting for her and his lithe body was seated on the bleachers. Heterochromatic eyes stared up at her, "Hello, Hana."

"Akashi-san," Hana echoed the greeting, "Uhm—What'd you need to talk to me about?"

"Your duties with this team," The captain plucked an imaginary piece of lint off his shorts, "Since we have grown in strength, there is no need to be worried about the journalism community. There is nothing they can say that will harm us."

Swallowing, Hana tried to respond, "Does that mean I'm done? The deal is over?"

"No," The answer was quick. Looking up, Akashi smiled at her and Hana had to fight her flinch, "You do have other talents."

"…Like what?"

"Your information regarding possible opponents," the redhead articulated his statement with two raised brows, "That is, if you are willing to share?"

 _That wasn't a question_ , her mind supplied unhelpfully. Technically, Hana could still deny him. They were in a crowded place after all. He couldn't murder her with this many witnesses. On the other hand, her mind flashed back to the promise she made to Momoi. _Just until Nationals… I said I'd try to remain their friend…_ and the final kicker came from herself, _you trusted him before, why not now?_

Hana could feel her body protesting her decision, but she mentally held firm. Determined, green eyes came up to meet his red and orange before Hana answered, "Okay."

"Wonderful."

Handing over her binder to Akashi felt like selling her soul. Every part of her was protesting and she could hear Torio berating her already. But she did it, it was over and done. Hopefully, this new Akashi still had enough of the old one in him to not break her trust.

 _Hopefully._

* * *

One person could only hear something so many times before they went insane. As it was, Hana was about at her limit.

"I told you were naïve," Torio's voice echoed from behind her and Hana sped up her pace. She did _not_ have the patience to deal with this. Instead of stopping, Torio continued, "I didn't know you were quite this naïve."

"I'm not naïve!" Her voice cracked as she yelled back, "I trust Akashi-san!" _…Sorta._

"If you say so," Torio hummed in return. With a growl, Hana flicked him the bird. His self-righteousness was pissing her off. She'd had enough of that with Akashi to last a lifetime, _thank you very much._ Torio ignored her rude gesture and began to speak in contemplation, "Though, it's weird how similar our jobs are. I gather information for my team too."

Hana could have cried at the offered change of conversation. She was so tired of hearing Torio bitch about how stupid she was. Sneaking a quick peek back, Hana latched onto the new subject, "Are you still on the basketball team?"

"Not quite," Unbeknownst to Hana, Torio's face had darkened slightly, "I'm no longer a player. I simply help them with information."

"Huh, that sucks. Hey!" she spun around as the realization came, "You never even told me what high school you go to!"

Everything was quite for a moment, except for the cars speeding down the street beside them. By the time it took Torio to reply, Hana was frowning at him in confusion, _it's not that personal of a question?_ The silky tone of his voice broke her thoughts off, "My mistake. Although, I doubt you've heard of us."

"You're acting like it's some big secret," Hana deadpanned, "It's not that big of a deal."

"Kirisaki Daichi."

"Huh," Hana stopped walking and blinked. Beside her, Torio also come to a standstill and turned to look at her with a contemplative expression. His black eyes were unreadable in the dim streetlight and it provided an intimidating effect. Meanwhile, Hana was still tossing the name over in her head, trying to recognize it. She voiced her findings, "Never heard of their team."

"Told you," Torio rested his hands behind his head, "Lets hurry. I'm hungry and your father always made the best food."

"Whatever," nudging him with her shoulder, Hana laughed at his exasperated expression, "You used to be so patient? The hell happened to you?"

"It's most likely your fault."

"Asshole."

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

**Another chapter! My finals are done and I'm celebrating by staring at my computer screen for hours on end. I'm also planning to get to the high school arc by the end of December, but it's a lofty goal I might not be able to achieve. ALSO! REVIEWS! YOU GUYS ARE SO NICE AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY AND I CAN'T STOP THE LOVE FLOWING FROM MY BODY. THANK YOU. Final note, this is sad. I'm sorry. Sadness overload and I hope you guys don't riot. I love you all. Enjoy! (this kinda deviates away from canon... only like a _smidgen of smidge.)_**

 **Warnings : Violence, bad language, pretty bad editing**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**

* * *

Trust

If there was one thing Hana _didn't_ miss about Torio's presence, it was his habit of following her around like a shadow. After leaving dinner the following night, Hana had assumed she wouldn't see Torio for a couple of days. A fact which was quickly proven wrong. Now, she was giving her older friend a blank stare as he stood across her with an innocent smile.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice came out sternly and Hana mentally applauded herself.

Shrugging, Torio just gave her another smile, "I wanted to see how my old team was fairing… As it is now, I'm not sure if it qualifies as improvement."

"We aren't actually practicing today," Hana rolled her eyes, "It's training day for the new recruits. You're just going to scare them off."

"Oh well," Torio waved his hand before turning around to address to rest of the team, "A few of you guys know me, but I see some new faces out there. My names Torio Kano and it's a pleasure to meet you!"

The only two people that knew Torio were Kitano and Iseri. The former had a bright grin on his face and the later had raised an incredulous eyebrow. Jumping from his seat, Kitano marched up to Torio with a grin, "It's been awhile! How have you been?"

"Eh, it's been alright," Torio reached a hand out and rubbed Kitano's head, "Where'd your hair go?"

Kitano was about to reply, but Iseri stepped forward instead, "Torio-san, it's a surprise to see you."

"Still so protective, huh Iseri?" Torio joked and Iseri's eyes narrowed minutely, "Little flower told me you're captain now, I never would have figured."

"Yes," Iseri's eyes narrowed further, "Where have you been?"

Torio blinked, "I'm sorry?"

Kitano and Hana exchanged wary glances. As soon as Hana realized where the conversation was going, she bounced forward to try and intercept Iseri. The skinny teen easily sidestepped her before he continued, "You said you would visit. Yet, it's been over a year now?"

"Did you miss me?" Torio gave him a smile, "You're so serious, little man."

By this point, Iseri's eyes were practically closed as he radiated announce. The captains mouth was in the process of opening when Hana was finally able to come between the two. Standing in front of Iseri, Hana crossed her arms and addressed Torio, "Okay, okay. You've had your visit. Don't you think it's time to go?"

"What's the big rush, Hana-chan?" Kitano cut in, "He won't distract anyone."

"He's distracting me," Hana deadpanned and Iseri gave a subtle nod in agreement. The three second years were all exchanging concerned looks as they watched the interaction between their upperclassmen. All of the third-years had very volatile presences and this might end in a shit show.

"I wasn't meaning to distract," Torio bowed his head, but Hana caught the devious glint of his eyes, "Although, I have several ways to do so if you'd like."

"You are a depraved individual," Hana scowled.

"Don't speak that way," Iseri added from behind Hana's shoulder.

"Ew," and that was Uoya.

"That was cute," Torio turned to Kitano, "Do they always do that?"

"Unfortunately," Kitano sighed out. He could already hear Iseri's incoming complaints. The past captain and the current captain had never got along. Ever since Iseri had joined the basketball team, Torio had rubbed him the wrong way. While Hana and Kitano essentially worshipped the ground the older teen walked on, Iseri could have cared less.

"Look," Uoya finally found the courage to speak to the older boy, "Torio-san? We really need to get started."

"And who are you?" Torio peered down at the gray-haired teen. He raised his pierced eyebrow and stepped closer to the younger teen. With a recently developed sense of bravery, Uoya stood firm.

"Uoya Kazuhiro."

"Well, Uoya-kun," Torio gave the smaller teen a smile before crouching to see him at eye level, "How did you join this team?"

Uoya blinked at the tone of the older teens voice. It sounded like a slinky car salesman and he didn't trust it for a second. The second year was about to voice his opinion, but a quick glance around had him pausing. Kitano had a small grimace on his face and was slowly shaking his head. His captain, Iseri, still had his eyes narrowed on the high schooler. Finally, Hana was growling and Uoya had a mental image of a mother bear… _Does that mean I'm her cub?_

"Don't do that," Hana barked and advanced toward Torio with a jabbing finger, "Play with someone else, not him."

"I wasn't going to play," avoiding her, Torio's lower lip jutted out, "I just want to tease him a bit."

"No. None of your damn mind games."

Uoya transferred his eyes away from Torio to look at Hana in curiosity, "Mind games?"

Rolling her eyes, Hana pointed at Torio, "This asshole was going to mess with your head. Don't trust a word he says and if asks you a question, don't answer."

"Flower…" Torio whined and gifted Hana with an exasperated expression, "Don't rat me out."

Hana held firm, "You're not messing with him."

"We're beginning practice now," Iseri's voice traveled over everyone. The new captain began to walk into the center of the gym, yet his eyes never left Torio, "Thank you for visiting, Torio-san, but now I must ask you to get off the court."

"Fine, fine," Torio brought his arms to rest behind his head and gifted Iseri a small smirk, "I'll be on the bleachers."

Around her the air radiated with the uncertainty from the first years, the anger coming from Iseri, the caution from Uoya, and Hana raised a hand to cover her eyes. _What a mess._ Feeling someone come up beside her, Hana removed her hand to look at Kitano. The bald boy was watching Torio's back contemplatively.

"Does he seem different to you?" Kitano questioned.

"Very much so," Hana retorted, "… Do you still trust him?"

"I think so," Kitano frowned and side eyed her, "Do you?"

"…Yeah."

By the end of practice, Hana was happy with what they got. There were four new first years who were sorted to second string and she didn't have a single complaint. Okay, one was kind of a dick, but she could fix that. In complete opposition to her statement, Torio was less then pleased. A fact that he hadn't stopped talking about.

Since coach hadn't been able to show up to practice today, Hana's little group had taken advantage of his office. The small room had a circular table in the middle and several file cabinets leaned against the walls. Hana, Kitano, Uoya, and Iseri were all seated at the table with several papers spread out between them. The faces of each new player were laid out in front of them as they discussed possible positions for each person.

"I don't like Shirai," Torio was standing beside their group when he spoke. In sync Hana, Iseri, and Uoya rolled their eyes. Ignoring them, Torio continued, "He can't shoot to save his life."

"That's why Uoya's going to coach him," Hana repeated. She'd said the same thing four times already.

"But," Torio's voice had the silky quality she had learned to be cautious off, "Are you not friends with the first-string team? Couldn't you call in a favor?"

"No," Hana growled as she began to scratch out the practice schedule for next week, "I told you, we're in a tough spot right now."

"Yet, you continue to help them?"

"They're friends," Uoya defended Hana. Giving Uoya a soft smile, Hana trailed her eyes back up to Torio's face. The older boy had a frown and Hana didn't like it. Not for the fact that he was angry, but for the fact she knew she wouldn't like what he had to say.

His frown suddenly smoothed out and Torio nodded sagely, "So they're using you."

"Yep," Kitano agreed from his chair before throwing a players file into the middle of the table. The rest of their grouping turned to him in horror, but Kitano just shrugged his shoulders, "You guys know my opinion on the whole thing."

"I will destroy you," Hana deadpanned. The pencil in her hand had a good weight to use as a projectile.

"I know," Kitano sighed out, "But please don't."

"You two are still so cute," Torio watched them with a smile as he leaned against the wall behind them, "But, Kitano? Could you enlighten me?"

"Kitano-kun," Iseri finally spoke up. Putting down his paper, Iseri's eyes directed toward Kitano and held a douse of warning, "Be careful with your words."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea…" Uoya spoke up. He didn't like the look on Torio's face or how tense Hana had become at the subject change. The way her jaw clenched confirmed his suspicions, "Shouldn't this be something Hana-chan talks about? Kitano-san doesn't know the whole story…"

"I think he knows enough," Torio intervened, "Besides, little flower was never good with telling the truth."

"You know I can't lie to you," Hana scowled down at the paper before turning her glare onto her old mentor, "Just let me explain."

"No, no. I'd rather hear it from Kitano," moving from his place against the wall, Torio crouched down beside Kitano's chair. His face changed into a look of open concern, "What's been happening?"

"Kitano—" Hana began, but the bald boy's mouth had already opened.

"They started talking to each other before summer last year," Kitano's voice trailed off as he talked, "They spent all summer together and she entered this screwed up deal with Akashi. He made her come to all their games and they basically made her into a slave—"

"That's _enough,"_ Hana growled, "That's not how it went!"

"From my view, it seems pretty close to the truth," Kitano shrugged, but his eyes held a hint of apology, "Sorry though. I shouldn't talk for you. I don't know what came over me…"

"Now, now, flower. I did ask him," Torio cut in as he stood up from his position beside Kitano. As he stalked toward her chair, Hana eyed him warily. Everyone else did the same until Torio finally spoke, "So these guys are your friends?"

" _Yes._ "

"But I don't see much friendship in that story," Torio passed her and circled around their table, "Don't friends visit with one another? How come I haven't seen any of them recently?"

"You've been here a day!" Hana stood up from her chair and slammed her hands against the table, "What are you trying to imply?"

"They're using you," Torio stopped and stood directly ahead of her in between Iseri and Kitano, "How can you not see it? I taught you better than that."

Her retort died in her throat and Hana just continued to stand. Her jaw clenched and unclenched repeatedly, but she couldn't find words to defend herself. He was right, he had taught her better. She'd ignored his warnings about first string team. But, _still._ Hana swallowed before replying, "They aren't using me."

"You gave him your notebook," Torio's voice lowered into a soft tone, "He's played you and you haven't even realized it."

"We aren't talking about that anymore! You made your opinion of that decision pretty clear yesterday,"

Hana paused as she rethought her encounter with Akashi, "And I told you, I trust him."

"Well, that makes you quite the idiot then," Torio's smile became chilled before it evened out as quickly as it came, "Although I won't hold it against you. You'll understand when it happens."

That was enough, _stupid self-righteous prick._

"I'm leaving," Hana began to gather her papers together, "I'm not talking about this, it's bullshit. You're using your damn scare tactics on me and I'm not falling for it."

"I warned you," Torio's shoulders lifted into a shrug, "My duties as protector are done."

"Screw off, Torio," Hana growled before slamming her backpack onto the table. Shooting the other inhabitants an apologetic glance, she mumbled, "Sorry guys. I'll see you next practice okay? And Uoya? I'll text you later."

Hana left the office in a huff, slamming the door behind her for good measure. In the room, Torio let out a soft sigh before glancing at the rest of the group, "My apologies. I'll be taking my leave as well."

Instead of following Hana's example, Torio softly closed the door behind him.

"Uhm," Uoya rambled in the now tense silence, "What just happened?"

"Shit," Kitano brought a hand to his forehead and leaned the chair he was sitting in backward, "Every conversation with him feels like an interrogation."

"One which you obviously failed," Iseri deadpanned.

At the middle of the table, Uoya waved his hand around to get his seniors attentions, "You still haven't told me what happened!"

"I didn't fail!" Kitano ignored Uoya, "And what about you! He got you riled up in three seconds flat!"

Uoya began again, "Guys?"

"At least I understand loyalty. You threw Hana-chan under the bus the second he asked you," Iseri sniffed delicately, "Not one of your best moments."

"I didn't mean too! He did that mind trick!" Kitano argued and stood up to glare into Iseri's face, "You would have done the same!"

"I wouldn't have fallen for his deceit," Iseri raised an eyebrow, "I'm smarter then you."

"Guys," Uoya groaned and slammed his head into the table repeatedly, "This isn't the time!"

Unfortunately, neither boy listened.

* * *

Trust is a valuable thing. It's the foundation of relationships, it's the mark of honesty, and for Hana it was _everything._ For a five-letter word, it had a lot of meaning. If Hana didn't trust someone, she didn't associate with them. Plain as that. It got a little difficult with certain people, mainly Torio and Akashi, but at the end of the day, Hana would still say she trusted them. Maybe that was foolish on her part.

Today, Hana was heading toward the first-string's game alone. Torio had his own duties to attend too and Hana hadn't pried. Whenever she asked about his team, Torio would become reserved and deflect each question with practiced accuracy. This brought back the issue of trust and its relationship with her life. Hana trusted Torio, so she would not snoop. _Even though, I'm still kind of pissed at him._

As she walked up to the stadium, Hana stopped and just stared. So many faces, so many people. If you were philosophical, you'd make a quote about the similarities of humans to ants. Too bad Hana wasn't. Instead of comparing the comparisons between humanity and insects, all she could focus on was the clenching of her chest. It felt like a ghost had shoved his hand into her heart and grabbed it, squeezing it between its icy fingers. Her hand traveled over her breastbone at the imaginary pain.

 _This feeling…_ The stadium in front of her began to take on a threatening tone and for a moment, Hana just wanted to turn back. What did she have here that required her presence? A bothersome voice in the back of her head answered, _friendships._ But, did she really?

Torio's warning came back into her head as Hana forced her feet to move forward. She hoped he was wrong. Every inch of her begged for him to be incorrect in his hypothesis. They weren't using her, right? They were still friends. This was just a phase and everything would be normal by the end of the year. _Right?_

The walk into the gym was a blur of passing colors and Hana hadn't registered any details until she was beside Momoi. The fellow manager was giving her a concerned look and Hana blinked back into reality, "Sorry?"

"Are you okay, Ima-chan? You look really pale."

"Yeah," Hana couldn't make eye contact with Momoi, "I just feel like something bad is going to happen…"

With a small grimace, Momoi nodded, "It does feel really tense."

Peering around her, Hana understood Momoi's words. The miracles were still standing, but like the first-time Hana talked to them, they weren't speaking to one another. Kise and Kuroko were sitting next to each other, but Kise's attention was directed toward his flashing phone screen. Leaning against the bleachers, Aomine was sprawled on the floor with his eyes closed. The closest one to Hana, Midorima, was looking over the team with a critical eye and Murasakibara was chewing on a piece of candy.

The purple giant spoke a moment later, "Where's Aka-chin?"

"I'm not sure," Kuroko responded before standing from his seat, "Akashi-kun may be running late."

"Of course he is," Aomine groaned, "Why the hell do we have to be on time when he never is?"

"Aomine-kun," Momoi chastised, but the ace player ignored her reprimand. Hana had half a mind to scold him herself, but the tightness in her chest was leaving her speechless. Teenagers can't have heart attacks, right? God, Hana hoped not.

"You know," Hana finally began, her attention on Momoi, "Akashi-san said I didn't have to talk to reporters anymore. I should probably go sit in the stands."

"No, you don't have to do that! Coach doesn't mind," Momoi argued back. The rest of the miracles had drifted into silence as the two girls talked and Hana found the sensation unnerving. Her green eyes traveled over to Kuroko and Hana quirked an eyebrow.

The ghost player nodded his head to her before responding, "I don't believe sitting with us causes a problem, Imamura-chan."

"Tetsuya is correct," the voice came from behind her and Hana jumped forward. Spinning around, she came face to face with Akashi, "I don't mind for the time being. Although," His hands moved forward and Hana zeroed in on her binder, "This belongs to you."

Akashi offered the binder toward her and Hana reached a slow hand forward to grab it, "…Thanks. Uhm, did you get what you need?"

"I did," Akashi didn't offer more before he headed toward the rest of his team. Bringing the binder to her chest uncertainly, Hana's eyes trailed after the captain. The book felt like lead in her hands and Hana couldn't quite figure out why. Her mind twisted in circles as she warily watched the miracles head out to the court, _somethings going to happen._

About thirty minutes into the game, Hana realized why her chest hurt. It had been a warning she should have heeded. This game… wasn't even a _game._ The miracles were playing like a lion would play with its food. They knew they would win, there was no doubt in their mind about that. But by god, Hana wanted to puke at their display.

As Aomine tossed the ball to _the other team,_ Hana felt her stomach heave. Words couldn't even begin to describe how sickened she was. Nothing they had done in the past compared to the horrible examples they were displaying now. Apparently, Hana wasn't the only one upset. Beside her, Momoi's grip on her clipboard had turned her knuckles white and Kuroko, who was standing in the background, turned away from the game.

Revolted was a good description to define how Hana felt now. Add in a touch of humiliation on behalf of her association with the team and you had her feelings in a nutshell. Across the court, her green eyes traveled after a rival team member who had just been subbed out. As she watched the young-looking boy retreat to his team bleacher, Hana froze as the boy bent over and began to sob. Her eyes blurred over and she had to stomp the urge to cry with him, _this isn't humane. This isn't right._

Besides the twirling bile in her stomach, Hana was experiencing another sensation. The binder still clutched in her hands practically burned. Did she have a part of this? Akashi had borrowed her information; did he use it to complete this annihilation? Torio's words sunk into her brain, an unending repetition of the word _used._ If Akashi had used her information today, then Hana was used. Betrayed, in a way.

Betrayed, because Hana had a hand in this. Now, the fate of the crying boy and his broken team rested in her hands too. No matter how small her portion was, Akashi had included Hana into this monstrous plan and the fact _hurt._ He was her friend, _or was he ever her friend_ , but this wasn't something she could be a part of. This behavior could _not_ have her name on it. Her throat felt tight and Hana buried her face into her hands.

 _God,_ she heard the whistle ring, signifying a foul. _What if this was my team? Would they do the same to them?_

The rest of the game continued in the same uncivilized behavior. When the boys would return to the side line, Hana refused to make eye contact or talk to any of them. The only ones left out of her irritation were Momoi and Kuroko, both not participating in the display. When the final buzzer rung, Hana was ready to get the hell out of there and never come back. _198 to 8…_ The pain inside her chest began to suffocate her and she… _couldn't do this anymore._

As the miracles returned to their side of the court and began to gather their items, Hana stood. Fiery, green eyes narrowed on the redhead and she spoke, "Seijuro."

Saying his name without respect felt so good. To put him on her level, if only for a moment. A petty form of revenge, but revenge none the less. Let the consequences be damned. Despite the temporary pleasure, her disrespect did nothing more than cause the pain in her heart to build. Gritting her teeth, Hana watched the captain tense.

Before Hana spoke, the tension between the miracles was small, but after her voice rang out everyone came to a standstill. A few feet ahead, Akashi paused from putting up his belongings and turned to her, "Yes?"

"Did you use my binder to get information on Hiramine? _"_

"I did," the captain offered no excuse for his behavior and Hana clenched her fists together. _It is as if he doesn't care about the destruction in his wake… As if he doesn't realize what he's done._ Meanwhile, everyone was staring at her and her mind flashed back to their first encounter. All their expressions matched the ones they had first given her; a mixture of annoyance and concern. That was the final straw.

"I'm done," her voice rang clear across the grouping, "The deals over."

"I'm sorry?" Akashi's voice was intense and his eyes were narrowed on her in examination. A red eyebrow rose at her defiant expression and Hana almost faltered, but _dammit I'm done._

"I can't be part of this anymore," crossing her arms over her chest, Hana looked away from the group, "I stayed around to try to save a ruined friendship, but it's too late. If this is your new behavior, I don't want any memory of you at all."

The words felt heavy on her tongue, but she couldn't give up. Hana continued without giving anyone a chance to respond, "I broke my rules for all of you. I ignored all the warnings. I _tried,"_ her voice cracked at the end of the sentence and Hana transferred her gaze to the ceiling, "But I will not be a part of this _destruction_."

"Imamura-chan?" That was Kise, but Hana refused to look at any of them. If her eyes connected with any of theirs it would all be over. She couldn't hold onto her determination if they challenged her. She could hardly hold on to her resolve at all. _But, I have to do this._

Everyone had their eyes on her and Hana could feel her heart stuttering out of control. The frantic beating was silencing all the noise in the gym and Hana felt her breathing pick up. Shaking her head, she began to step backward and uttered a broken apology, "I'm sorry. I don't regret our friendship, but I have nothing left here."

She stood there for a moment, letting her hair cover her face and refusing to look up at the team. Feeling something warm drip down her cheek, Hana quickly wiped the evidence off before turning her back to the miracles. She heard Kise in the background, but she couldn't make out his words. As she stumbled away, Momoi's voice broke through and she almost faltered at the other managers quite apology. Shaking her head even harder, Hana pushed her feet to move faster. She needed out of there, now.

 _It had to be done,_ Hana's mind supplied, _Torio was right._

That fact didn't make her feel much better.

* * *

Whenever Hana was upset, she retreated into her shower. The warm water pounding on her back was a good distraction from the tightness of her throat and the way the tears threatened to burst out. She knew she was being over dramatic, she shouldn't be this upset… It had been coming from a mile away, yet it still hurt like hell.

The shittiest thing was that there was a part of her that wanted to apologize. When she finally got home, her fingers had itched to pull out her phone and call Kuroko to beg for forgiveness. Hana had promptly squashed that thought by throwing her phone into a drawer and turning it on silent. Closing her eyes, Hana relaxed into the pressure of the rushing water.

She wouldn't cry. _She wouldn't._

Hana stayed in the shower until the water got cold and even a little bit after that too. By the time she got out, her skin had wrinkled and her teeth were chattering. Wrapping herself into a fuzzy towel, Hana padded out of the bathroom toward her bed. The red binder laid spread across her covers and her green eyes narrowed on the cover.

As she glared down at the binder, her door was flung open. She really shouldn't have been surprised by the voice behind her, "Flower?"

"What?" Her voice came out hoarse and Hana winced.

"Your father called me," Torio stepped into her room cautiously, his eyes trailing over the white walls, "He didn't want to leave you home alone."

"I'm fine," Hana snapped before walking toward her closet, "Go home, Torio."

Hana slammed the door behind her, but she could still hear Torio's reply, "I'm afraid not. I have to agree with your father right now. Did you know your skin was blue?"

Throwing on an oversized sweater, Hana yelled, "I don't want to hear you rub it in my face. Seriously, go home!"

"No," she heard her bed creak and assumed Torio had laid across it. The growl from Nūdoru proved her correct. His voice yelled back to her, "I'm here to cheer you up!"

"Screw off," Hana snarled as she opened the closet door, "I don't want to hear anything you have to say. Alright?" Her voice cracked and Hana shook her head to stop the incoming emotions, "You were right, okay? Just go home."

"Flower," Torio's voice became stern and Hana stopped walking, "Go put on some longer pants, we're going for a drive."

"The hell?" Her misery was forgotten for the moment, "No, we aren't. _I'm_ going to bed."

"Nope," hopping off her bed, Torio darted into her closet. The sound of rustling followed him and suddenly Hana had a pair of pants flying at her face, "Put those on."

"No!"

"I'll do it for you," Torio came to stand in front of her and gave her a closed-eye smile, "Or you can do it. It's your choice, really."

In the end, Hana put on her own pants and now she was sitting in the passenger side of Torio's car. She had wanted to take Nūdoru along, but Torio had shot that idea down pretty quick. As Hana pouted out the window, she watched the neon lights flash by. Were they still in Tokyo?

"Where are we going?" The steam of her breath fogged up the window her face was pressed against, "We are still in town, right?"

"Mhmmm," Torio sped down the street without glancing in her direction, "I'm going to go see one of my old friends. He picked something up for me."

"… Please, dear God, tell me you aren't part of a drug ring."

"Nope," This time Torio cracked a smile, "Not drugs, just something that will help you feel better for a while."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Hana deadpanned, "What's this guy's name?"

"Yamura," his black eyes glanced at her, "Just stay in the car, okay?"

"This is sounding worse every time you speak."

"Hush, flower."

Thirty minutes later Hana was staring at the park they'd arrived at in awe. She still didn't know what Torio had picked up at his friend's house, all she knew was that the guy lived in a pretty scary neighborhood. Of course, it was dark out, so everything seemed scary. Anyway, her paranoia hadn't appreciated the surroundings and Hana had spent the whole time waiting curled up in a ball at the footboard.

But this park, man. This park was where it all started and Hana couldn't believe Torio had the foresight to bring her here. Back in sixth year, they had always come to this park together because it was close to where Torio's dad worked. The place was near a shrine and Hana had always loved the woods that surrounded them, it made the place feel magical.

Stepping tentatively out of the car, Hana looked back to Torio in shock, "Why'd you bring me here?"

"I figured it'd help you get your mind off everything," Torio answered before he walked around to the trunk. After it popped open he spent a few minutes rummaging through it before replying, "I even brought food."

"Food," Hana deadpanned before spinning around and glaring at him, "You went to that scary neighborhood for _food?_ We could have just gone to a restaurant!"

"Yamura's a chef," Torio brought out a small bag of food and gave Hana a smirk, "Trust me, it'll taste better than anything you've ever had."

"I thought you were buying drugs!"

Torio blinked as he came to stand beside her, "I thought you were kidding."

"You said it'd make me feel better!" Hana elbowed him in the side, "That implies mood altering substances. Example one: drugs!"

Snorting, Torio ruffled her hair with his free hand, "I wouldn't do that, flower. Come on though, foods about to be cold."

He led her to a spot underneath a large cherry blossom tree, at least that's what it looked like. Hana couldn't quite tell in the darkness around them. As Torio gracefully settled down, Hana followed his lead and plopped to the floor. Her butt immediately got wet from the damp grass and Hana scowled, _of course._

"You know…" Torio shot her a smirk before opening the bag, "I had a blanket."

"Isn't that something you tell me _before_ I sit down?"

"I guess," he shrugged before laying a bento out in front of her and then getting one for himself, "Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu," Hana repeated before grabbing a piece of food. As soon as it hit her mouth, her taste buds exploded, "Holy shit, this is really good." _Murasakibara would have liked it…_

"Told you," Torio's black eyes glanced up at her, "Stop thinking about them."

"I didn't even tell you what happened-"

"I could tell," He chewed his food thoughtfully before looking upwards at the tree branches, "You used to wear that face all the time. Before I introduced myself and all."

Hana gave a halfhearted snort, "You mean before you completely overhauled my life?"

"If you want to think of it that way," he shrugged his shoulders good-naturedly, "I like to think of it as adopting a pet. A terrified, shy, little brat of a pet, but still a pet."

"That description is contradictory," Hana pointed her chopsticks at his head, "And I wasn't terrified!"

"You squealed every time I came up behind you. Do you still do that?"

"…" Hana pointedly looked away, "Maybe."

"You got to work on that," his chuckle was soft and Hana was lost in memories of the past, "It used to be adorable, probably still is."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Yep," His eyes glanced back up to her fondly, "Don't want anyone stealing my flower away from me."

"You're such a flirt," Hana rolled her eyes, but her lips still twitched into a smile, "Do you practice all your lines on me?"

"Basically," Torio shrugged unashamed. The conversation petered out and both teens were left to enjoy the calm atmosphere. As she looked up to the stars, Hana realized she was happier then she had been in a while and that was a great feeling. She'd really missed this.

"Sometimes I wish we could go back," her voice was tender, "Back when we did this all the time."

"We can," Torio didn't offer any explanation for his words and Hana shot him a curious look. Her friend only smiled before nibbling at his food again, "Are you tired?"

"… A bit? Why?"

"I had a theory," his words were accompanied by a short huff, "I'm not sure I'm right, but I wanted to try it."

"What theory?"

"Well," his voice transferred into the serious tone Hana remembered so well. It usually accompanied a stressful lesson or long study session, "I know it's your nervous system that causes you to mess up when you're lying. You're skittish, paranoid, and all around anxious. But, if you were in a sedated state, I think you'd be able to pull it off."

"Like, lie to you? Lie to people that intimidate me?" Her mind flashed to Akashi and Hana barely stopped her flinch. _Would that have changed anything? Would I have wanted to change anything?_

"Yeah," Torio scratched at his head, seemingly in thought, "I was thinking about getting you drunk," he ignored her squawk, "Or meditating. But that all seemed tedious, so I figured sleep deprivation was the way to go."

"…." Hana furrowed her brows as she reached for a soft drink her friend had conveniently brought, "How long are we talking about? I'm already tired."

"Don't know," Torio raised his soda forward in a mock cheer, "But stay awake. We're going to play a game to pass the time."

Hana eyed him warily behind her own drink, "What game?"

"Two truths and a lie," her older friend smirked at her horrified expression, "Just like old times. We're going to see if my idea was right."

Torio was correct in a way. The longer Hana stayed awake, the more she lost her reservations. Her mouth began to babble like a stream as each hour passed and finally Torio had loaded her into the car to take her home. Her words were slurring out of exhaustion, but she had managed to fool Torio a couple times which was _awesome._ Seeing his incredulous expression every time he got a question wrong boasted her ego like no one's business.

By the time they got back to her house, the sun was already rising in the sky. Hana didn't know how Torio was still awake. The boy had to be a superhuman or jacked up on coffee. As Torio silently led Hana up the steps, she tripped over her own foot, but her older friend had been able to catch her in time. If Hana didn't know better, she would say she was drunk off her butt.

"Is my dad home yet?" Hana asked the ceiling after Torio deposited her onto her bed, "He's going to be reallllly mad."

"It's fine," A voice from the floor responded and Hana blinked sluggishly, "He didn't wake up when we came in. By the way, it's your turn."

"Oh," Hana closed her eyes and began to hum. The tune distracted her, but Torio cleared her voice and Hana blinked back into awareness, "Why am I so sleepy? This sucks."

"It's 5 in the morning, I'd be worried if you weren't tired."

"No," Hana groaned as she rolled over onto her stomach and the dizzy feeling of overexertion came back, "I'm never doing this again."

"Sure, sure," Torio let out a soft laugh and Hana blinked at the fuzzy head of hair on the floor. His voice continued, "It's still your turn."

"Okay," she didn't notice how her voice slurred the word out, "Uhm, I've never been in love. I've never been on an airplane. Or, I've never broke a bone."

"Hmmm," Torio hummed and Hana waited as he thought, "You're getting better at this. I know you've been on an airplane. So, I'm going to go with love."

"Wronggg," Hana sung out and rolled back onto her back, "I've never broken a bone!"

"What?" Torio truly sounded shocked and if Hana hadn't been so tired, she would have relished the moment, "Are you being serious?"

"Yup!" Her voice came out in ditsy giggles, "I got you!"

"Who were you in love with?"

Well, that wasn't a fun question. Pouting at the ceiling, Hana responded, "I'm not sure, but I know it was love. It was all fuzzy and warm and stuff. Like a kitty."

"You hate cats," Torio reminded her. Even though she didn't need reminding, at all.

"Exactly. I don't like love either," Hana kicked her foot out and laughed at the weird feeling, "It was annoying and it made me cry. I don't like to cry."

"Don't cry," Torio's voice echoed up to her and Hana rolled her eyes at the pointless advice, "You did the right thing."

"Sureeee," Hana drawled out, "It's your turn!"

For a second, she didn't hear any noise from the older boy and Hana crawled forward to peer down at him. Her face hung off the edge of the bed and she raised an eyebrow at his thoughtful face. Finally, Torio spoke, "I want you to come to high school with me, I like botany, or I hate large bodies of water."

"You like large bodies of water," Hana answered automatically despite her sleepiness, "You love going to the beach."

"Yeah," Torio's voice was soft and Hana blinked at how close his face was to hers, "You understand what I'm saying?"

"Yup!" Bringing a hand forward, Hana poked him in the forehead. Her resulting snickers destroyed the intimate atmosphere he'd been trying to make, "Your face is funny."

Torio closed his eyes and sighed, "Why did I think this was a good idea?" His hand wiped down his face and his black eyes blinked up to the ceiling in exasperation. Beside him, Hana still hadn't stopped giggling and he was seconds away from pushing her off the bed. He was about to do just that when a growl stopped him. Pausing, Torio turned to the corner and met eyes with Nūdoru who was watching him intently.

"You are one scary dog," his eyes narrowed as the growling got louder, "I'm not doing anything, calm down."

"He knows you're mean," Hana sung out and Torio turned to her with raised brows. She gave another sleepy giggle, "He's smart…" Her voice trailed off and Torio couldn't stop the flash of relief he felt as Hana passed out.

"Thank you," He breathed as he stood up and stretched his legs out. Coming to stand above her, he grabbed the tail end of her covers and draped them over her back. Nūdoru began to growl again at the action, but Torio just rolled his eyes before stepping away from the bed. Now he just had to get out of the house without waking her father up… _No problem._

Seconds later, the window creaked open before Torio threw a foot out and began the descent downward. A few scrapes later and he was safely on the ground. After hopping over Hana's fence, he whistled a jaunty tune as he traveled down the darkened street-way. _At least my plans worked._

Now, there was nothing keeping her from transferring to his school.

 _Step one, complete._

* * *

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **030artastic**_ _ **: thank you for your review! I'm sorry if your heart breaks some more…**_

 _ **JeyaMendoza**_ _ **: You were a lot of help, thank you! And there is definitely a vibe, but it might not be pure. We shall see! And awh, don't blame Kuroko. Poor boy has his own problems (probably worse than Hana's). And yes, sorta enemies… it'll be fun while it lasts. Thank you for your help and awesome reviews!**_

 _ **Guest**_ _ **: Thank you!**_

 _ **AngelicHallows**_ _ **: Awh, thank you! I love hearing that people get excited for my updates. It really makes me want to write faster! And I'm sorry… This probably just broke your heart more… And I'm glad you like Torio! He's kind of an enigma to write. Hard to get his character straight, but it's so much fun! Your compliments on my writing never fail to make me happy, thank you!**_

 _ **Chancellor S**_ _ **: Unfortunately, that's exactly what was happening. There had to be a breaking point eventually. Thank you for your review!**_

 _ **Naliyu**_ _ **: he did! Ahh, I'm glad you think they're cute, thank you!**_

 _ **MarvelGeek13**_ _ **: No, please don't die!**_

 _ **RedRaspberries**_ _ **: Thank you! And yes, if only Hana was evil... that would have been a fun story. Thank you again!**_

 _ **Amgs**_ _ **: She will not go to the same highschool as Torio, it's not in the cards. I'm sorry about this chapter, since you were so happy about the little bit of relationship that they saved! Unfortunately, it had to happen for the plot and for Hana to grow. Thank you!**_

 _ **FrizzleChicken**_ _ **: I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you! The fact that your fangirling over Hana really makes me happy. Thank you a million times!**_

 _ **Volley-14-nerd**_ _ **: He did! The hype is crazy! Thank you for your review!**_

 _ **TheParadoxicalOxymoron**_ _ **: I don't think it really influenced him… I kind of imagined Hana had to have a strange mentor to influence her over the top personality. And yes, violence! Ready the mob! I apologize that the group did not get their act together this chapter, but hopefully it will make the reunion even sweeter! Thank you!**_

 _ **JustCallMeWhatever**_ _ **: Nudoru is a good dog, Nudoru knows. Thank you for your review!**_

 _ **ADDBaby**_ _ **: I'm laughing, again. I'm sorry for the pain this chapter might bring you! And go, defeat Aomine! Destroy the rainbow patriarchy! The teammates have returned! And so has the "shady ass, slippery snake, one eyebrow pierced, giant." Thank you for your entertaining reviews, they make me giggle and I love it.**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Hehe, new chapter. I kind of like it, dunno... Torio was a jerkface. Hopefully you like it too? Also, the reviews are messed up somehow and hopefully they'll fix it soon! I can still read them, but they don't show up on the site, only my email. If you guys liked second string... this is mostly them! Woo! And one surprise appearance by the resident evil person of the KnB universe (who is hard to write, btw.) Enjoy! And even if your reviews don't appear on the site, I still see them and they make me smile *hinthint*  
**

 **Warnings: Bad language (there is one ef bomb in here), violence!, and bad editing**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke**_

* * *

Revenge

Hana woke up groggy, which was to be expected. Her thoughts couldn't quite comprehend why she was cuddled up to Nūdoru on the floor, but she wouldn't complain. He made a great pillow. Except, he did smell like dirt which wasn't so great. Big boy needed a bath. As she stretched her legs out, Hana blinked her crusty eyes open. Nūdoru let out a soft whine at her movement, but otherwise didn't stir.

 _What the hell woke me up?_ Her hand came up to rub the sleep out of her eyes as Hana rolled off Nūdoru. Rolling her neck, she crawled to her feet and looked around for the distracting humming noise. That had to be what woke her up, _but what was it?_ Hana sluggishly moved toward her dresser where the noise was originating.

Reaching for the knob, Hana pulled open her underwear drawer. Her phone was flashing as it laid surrounded by multiple brightly colored undergarments. Just the sight of it brought back memories of yesterday and Hana really didn't want to open it. The thought that it could be one of the miracles made her breath catch, but it could also be a member of her team. It was a fifty/fifty chance.

Finding the odds unfavorable, Hana let the call go to voicemail.

When it was finally silent, Hana reached forward and retrieved it. Her hands fumbled as she flipped it open, but the image on the screen almost made her drop it. Momoi had called her several times and there were two texts from Kuroko. That fact made her heart feel a little warmer, but Hana didn't respond. It was too soon to rekindle things; she needed a chance to think.

The most recent call was from Uoya and Hana scowled. That meant he wanted something, especially since he was up before ten on a Sunday. With a heavy sigh, Hana hit the redial button and waited for her friend to pick up.

"Hana-chan!" Well, that was fast, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine?" Her voice transferred the statement into a question. Walking back toward her bed, Hana frowned, "How did you know?"

"Torio-san called Kitano-san, then Kitano-san called Iseri-san then Iseri-san called—"

"I get it," Hana rolled her eyes as she cut her friend off.

"So," Uoya's voice paused and Hana waited through the static filled silence, "You are okay?"

"Peachy. Seriously though, you guys gossip more than old woman."

"Good!" The silence came again and this time her brows furrowed in confusion. The hell was taking him so long? A few seconds later, "Can you unlock your door?"

"I swear to God-" Hana heard a nervous chuckle before stomping toward her door, "I've slept three hours! You're making coffee."

"But—"

"You should have known the consequences."

Flash forward six hours later and Hana was stubbornly refusing to leave her house. She was still wrapped up in her blanket cocoon and not planning to move anytime soon. Sipping her eighth cup of coffee, Hana watched Uoya pace around as he angrily talked on the phone. _Hell,_ she snorted, _what'd he think would happen?_

"She won't move!" Uoya's voice grew high pitched, "You think I haven't tried that?!"

Cracking a smile, Hana watched as he steadily grew more frustrated, "No matter how loudly you complain about me, I'm still not going."

"Oh, come on!" Uoya turned around and pointed a finger at her face, "You need to get out of the house!" The phone in his hand let out a muffled reply and Uoya brought it back to his ear, "What? No! Do you have a death wish?"

A pause, "Uhm," Uoya blinked slowly, "That actually sounds like a good idea…"

"Whatever it is, I'd advise you not to do it," Hana countered, but Uoya paid her no mind.

"So… I just _take_ it?"

Hana bristled, "You better not take anything if you want to keep all your limbs."

"Okay," Uoya flipped his phone shut and his face focused in on Hana. Watching her scowl, his cheeks slowly turned ashen, "Please don't hurt me."

"I promise to hurt you in the worst way possible," Hana growled, but Uoya just closed his eyes before stepping toward her. As her friend got closer, she wrapped the blanket firmly around her shoulders in protest, "If you touch my blanket, I will kill you."

She thought her threat had worked, but she was suddenly slammed into the couch by Uoya's lanky body. Because of the blanket wrapped around her, Hana was unable to fight off her friend. What started out as wrestling quickly turned into an intense game of tug or war. With her blanket securely fastened between her teeth, Hana was trying to wiggle away from Uoya's grabby hands.

"Just let go!" Uoya yelped as a foot connected to his head, "Stop kicking!"

Hana growled at him, but it was muffled by the blanket in her mouth. Bringing another foot up, Hana wrapped her legs around Uoya's waist and attempted to shove him to the floor. It didn't work and Uoya was able to grab one of her ankles. Hana's growls got louder as she tried to get out of his grip, but he held firm.

"Ow, ow, ow," Uoya shrieked as Hana grabbed his hair with her toes, "Not the hair!"

"…" The front door opened and both teens turned to stare at the person, "The hell?"

Another head popped inside beside the first and voiced their own opinion, "This isn't quite what I had in mind, Uoya-kun."

"Stop staring and help me!" Uoya yelled as Hana got her left foot free, "She's going to kill me!"

Exchanging looks, Kitano and Iseri both turned back to the situation. Kitano spoke first, "No thanks. You're on your own."

"I agree," Iseri nodded as he stepped into Hana's living room, "You didn't follow my directions."

"You guys!" Uoya was finally sent sprawling toward the floor. He looked up at Hana with a glare, "I hate you."

Spitting the blanket out of her mouth, Hana glared right back, "Don't touch my blanket. And you two, get out of my house!"

"No, thank you," Iseri marched straight into her kitchen. Hana heard him rummaging around a bit before he returned with a cupcake, "We're going out."

Hana deadpanned, "No."

"Yes," This time Kitano spoke before he leaped over the couch to land on top of her, "I'll carry you if I have too."

"Get off me!" Hana began to flail, but Kitano was easily able to pin her down. Her eyes narrowed on his, "I'm going to murder you all. You should plan your funerals."

"If that was true, we'd all be dead ten times over," Kitano smirked down at her before rolling off, "Go get dressed, you stink."

Iseri and Uoya both nodded in agreement as Hana sat up on the couch. Pulling the blanket back over her head, she glared them all down. When no one flinched, she accepted her defeat and stood up with the blanket covering her like a cloak. Hana stumbled toward the staircase before calling out, "Nūdoru! Honey, there are people here and they want to play with you!"

Following her statement, Nūdoru gave a bark accompanied by a sequence of loud thuds. All the boys in her living room paled as they watched the speeding mass of dog head straight at them. Giving them a cheery wave goodbye, Hana made her way up the stairs to take a shower. _I love revenge._

"Shit," Kitano cursed right as Nūdoru tackled him to the ground, "Hana!"

Turns out her teammates hadn't planned very well. Other than their successful kidnapping attempt, they hadn't figured out what to for the rest of the day. As such, Hana had spent all afternoon being dragged around town by two hyper active children and Iseri. Did you know there was an adult novelty store in her neighborhood? No? Well Hana didn't either, but Kitano, _oh so helpfully,_ enlightened her.

Now, they were all sitting on the sidewalk looking like the typical group of trouble making teenagers. Hana had called Torio a couple times, but he never answered and only once texted her back. Apparently, he had plans with his team today. He mentioned they were playing against an uncrowned king, but hadn't told her who. _They got the cool name,_ Hana smirked mentally, _Uncrowned Kings sounds much more badass than Generation of Miracles._

Speaking of Torio and his team, Hana leaned her head against Iseri's shoulder before questioning, "Hey? Do you have your phone?"

"Yes," She could see him lift an eyebrow, "Where's yours?"

"Wrapped in a pair of socks," Hana replied, "Can I borrow it?"

Iseri didn't question her further and simply handed her his phone without a response. Flipping it open, Hana directed it toward the internet option. _I hope he has unlimited data…_ After the home page loaded, Hana typed in her inquiry: _Kirisaki Daiichi Highschool._ It led her straight to the school's webpage and she scrolled through the quick links before finding the clubs section. _Where is it? Where is it? Ah ha!_

What greeted her made her face go slack. She lifted her head off Iseri's shoulder and stared down at the phone, "The hell? He didn't tell me he was on a team with one of the kings!"

"What?" Kitano leaned forward to peer around Iseri, "What are you talking about?"

"That shit!"

"Hana-chan?" Uoya peered his head past Kitano's, "Are you okay?"

"No! Yes? I don't know!" Hana's eyes narrowed on the tiny picture of Torio's team, "Do you think someone should mention that they're on a team with like halfway famous people?"

"You aren't making sense," Kitano groaned, "Who are you talking about?"

"Torio! He's on Hanamiya Makoto's team!"

"…" all three of her teammates froze. Taking advantage of their surprise, Hana shoved the phone into Iseri's face and Kitano leaned his head over to look with him. Iseri's brows steadily rose as he viewed the digital image, "I hadn't imagined that."

"What the hell!" Kitano snatched the phone out of Iseri's grip and narrowed his eyes, "Why isn't he in this picture?"

"Maybe he hadn't joined yet," Uoya inputted before shrugging, "What does it matter?"

"You wouldn't know, since our team was never quite strong enough to face them," Iseri began as Kitano cursed down at the phone. On Iseri's other side, Hana perked up at possibility of incoming information, "But the Uncrowned Kings are several extraordinary players that, if born in a different year, would have possibly outdone the Generation of Miracles."

"They're badass," Hana added. At everyone's blank look, she elaborated, "Okay, think of it this way, they achieved their status on their own! Like, the miracles became all badass because they were a team, but these guys were never on the same team."

"You have an unhealthy idolization of basketball players," Iseri scoffed, but his lips still twitched, "What would you do if you ever met one?"

"Not screw up like I did with the miracles," Hana smirked to cover the pang in her heart, "Besides, I did meet one!"

"Bull," Kitano scoffed as he handed Iseri's phone back to him. Narrowing her eyes on Kitano's bald head, Hana struck out with a slap. His hands came up to hold the growing red splotch gingerly and he gave Hana a wide-eyed look, "What was that for!"

"You're a dick," Hana didn't elaborate further, "I met Kiyoshi Teppei, he was pretty cool. You know… for a guy that just got his ass kicked."

In the background, Uoya had skillfully retrieved Iseri's phone out of his lap and his brown eyes were focused on it as he typed in a new search. As his finger scrolled through the information, a singular eyebrow rose in disbelief, "Kiyoshi goes to Seirin."

"That new school?" Kitano snorted, "What a lame choice- Put your hand down, Hana!"

"But that's not all," Uoya continued as his other eyebrow rose, "Seirin's playing in the Nationals this year, today actually. Guess who their opponent is?"

"Who?" Iseri and Hana spoke in sync. Kitano was in the background rubbing his now sore arm and shooting Hana an aggravated glare. Pausing for dramatic effect, and annoying everyone, Uoya finally answered.

"Kirisaki Daiichi. The games at seven."

For a moment, no one knew how to reply. Hana was the first to speak, "We're going! It's decided!"

Uoya groaned as he brought a hand to his face, "But… the games at _seven._ It's six."

She paused, before throwing a fist in the air, "We run!"

"No," her teammates retorted together.

"…" Hana's eyes turned into slits as she turned to face them, "If you aren't running by the time I count to five, _I will rip your ba-"_

"We're going!"

* * *

It'd been awhile since Hana had actually sat in the stands with the rest of the crowd. But, here she was, smashed in between Kitano and Uoya with Iseri sitting in the seat in front of her. All three of her boys were kind of pissed at her. They hadn't forgiven her for making them run all the way there and they weren't afraid to show it. Kitano had taken her arm rest, Uoya stole her drink, and Iseri had been a smart mouthed dick the whole way there.

The game hadn't started yet, which didn't help their anger. By forcing them to run, they had made it to the stadium in fifteen minutes' flat. Poor Uoya's clothes were saturated in seat. Luckily, Iseri and Kitano had the foresight to take theirs off. Something that Hana was mildly envious of as she sat in her, now reeking, clothing. _Where's Momoi when I need her? Oh… yeah._

She didn't want to go down that train of thought. She wanted to be happy. Which is not an emotion she could feel if she thought about her lost friendships. Hopefully, Momoi would be able to forgive her in time. Her friendship with the fellow manager was one of the few things Hana didn't want to lose. Hell, she hadn't wanted to lose any of their friendships, but the choice was out of her hands.

Thankfully, the teams began to come onto the court. This distracted Hana from her self-deprecating thoughts and her green eyes scanned the area until they landed on Torio. Her old friend was standing to the side of his team, his own notebook in hand. His usually smirking mouth was pressed into a stoic line and Hana furrowed her brows. _What's his problem?_

She shrugged the worry off before trailing her eyes over the rest of his team. They looked normal enough and she could clearly see Hanamiya in all his glory. The king was standing tall, head tilted almost threateningly as he traded barbs with a brunette boy. There was also another player sleeping on the bleachers and three more standing around him. _All in all, kind of normal._

On the other hand, the Seirin team looked so happy… it almost broke her heart. That was what a team should look like. Hana recognized Kiyoshi, but the boy he was standing next to was unfamiliar. He was shorter then Kiyoshi and had a sleek pair of glasses. _Midorima…_ Hana pushed the thought away and focused on the next player. _That guy looks like a cat,_ Hana moved on to another player, _who's talking with his hands?_ And finally, _is that Nijimura?_

No, on closer inspection, it was not Nijimura. Just a guy who looked like him. Or well, he did. But as Hana looked closer, she noticed the differences. Not only the physical differences. This guy's eyes were different… It was like he was seeing the whole court at once. Even though his stance was relaxed, his eyes kept flickering over the entire area. It was kind of impressive.

"Hyuuga!" Hana jumped at the loud voice that came from the short girl in the middle of their group. Beside her, Uoya had done the same. The girl continued, "Keep on your toes!"

"…Weird team," Kitano scoffed as he watched.

"They look like us," Iseri tilted his head around and rose an eyebrow, "Are you implying we're weird?"

"Yes," Uoya answered for Kitano, his expression incredulous, "Do you have eyes?"

At the sarcastic rebuke, Iseri's face transferred into a scowl, "Stop taking lessons from Hana-chan. She's ruining you."

"I would like to disagree, very loudly," Hana inputted as her eyes zeroed in on the court, "But the games starting, so shut up."

"Yes, your highness," Kitano scoffed, but leaned back into his chair. Hana gave him a sideways glare in return and Kitano promptly scooted away from her. _Good, he's learning._

Things started off normally enough. The two teams were playing with everything they had, but something was _off._ Hana couldn't tell what, per say, but it was radiating across the court. Something was wrong and it was affecting Seirin. The lively team she had seen at the beginning of the match was replaced by narrowed eyes and angry gestures. At first, Hana couldn't tell what was happening. A glance to her right and left proved that Kitano and Uoya had noticed as well.

It was during the second quarter that Hana finally caught it. The brunette boy from earlier was on the defensive, guarding against the one with glasses. It was such a quick movement, Hana almost missed it. One second the Kirisaki boy was waving his arms in front of the other and then the boy with glasses was bent over, huffing. The ball was retrieved from Seirin and put into Kirisaki's possession.

Hana blinked once, then twice, then three times. Green eyes flickered over to Torio and she caught the boy giving a discreet nod to the player who had been sleeping earlier. Another one of Seirin's players was sent stumbling back and it all _clicked._ Standing from her position, Hana screeched, "Bunch of dirty cheats!"

"Hana-chan!" Uoya fumbled as he tried to get her to sit back down. He was able to with the help of Kitano, "What was that!"

"Watch!" She jabbed her finger to the court, "Watch what they're doing!"

"We've been watching-" Kitano was cut off by Iseri.

Her captain echoed Hana's findings, "They're sabotaging Seirin. When the referee looks away, one of the players strikes out."

"Exactly!" Hana raised her voice again, "Because they're a bunch of fuc-"

"Not helping," Kitano deadpanned as his hand came to rest over her mouth, "You'll get us kicked out if you keep that up."

Her eyes closed and Hana huffed out of her nose. When she finally opened them again, she shot Kitano a fierce glare before biting down on his hand. Her teammate let out a loud curse and quickly brought his hand back. His eyes bugged out of his head, "You—You bit me!"

"You were asking for it."

When she looked back to the game, Hana didn't focus on the players. No, her eyes zeroed in on Torio. Her old mentor was surprisingly looking up in the stands and their eyes met. Hana took a ferocious type of joy in the way he paled at recognizing her. His mouth had started to open and Hana looked away. She was disgusted with him, with his team. He could explain himself later.

Second quarter ended and third began. That's when things went to shit. If Hana had thought Kirisaki's behavior had been bad before, it was nothing compared to now. Seirin's players were still playing hard, but several of them had bruises on their arms and legs. A glance to the team's coach showed the girl wringing her hands nervously, glancing between her players and the scoreboard. Seirin was in the lead, but it was only a ten-point difference.

There was a minute and fifteen seconds before third quarter ended when Hanamiya was subbed in. Hana's eyes tracked the king warily. The game restarted with the new player on the field and the Nijimura look-a-like shot the ball toward the net. It bounced off the rim once and the two players closest to the goal jumped. Kiyoshi and another brunette leaped into the air. That's when it happened.

Kiyoshi landed first and the Kirisaki player remained in the air for a moment. The breath shot out of Hana's lungs when the player landed. _Right on top of Kiyoshi's knee._ It was like the world went still before Kiyoshi fell to the floor in pain. Bringing her hands up to her mouth, Hana watched as his large hands came to circle his knee and his face pinched in unbearable pain. The rest of the players took a moment to react and when they did it was with a fury.

The glasses wearing boy marched forward and began to yell at Hanamiya, who just stood there neutrally. This continued for a few seconds, before Kiyoshi propped himself up and yelled for his teammate to return. Glasses did so grudgingly, shooting one last venomous look over his shoulder before helping Kiyoshi to his feet. He and another player led Kiyoshi to the sidelines.

"What…" Uoya's voice was broken and Hana looked over at him. His eyes were wide and his jaw had slackened, "Why would someone _do_ that?"

"Orders," Hana answered. Her green eyes were still narrowed on Hanamiya before transferring over to Torio. Her old friend didn't look surprised at all and Hana growled, "What a sick freak."

"Agreed," For once Kitano's voice was soft, "This is Torio's team?"

"Yes," Iseri was solemn when he spoke, "It seems we have missed a vital part of his personality."

"We did," Hana nodded, "We definitely did."

Seirin came back with a vengeance. Despite the lead that Kirisaki Daiichi got from Kiyoshi's absence, Seirin wouldn't let them win. The players were fighting for their friend and even if she didn't know them, Hana was proud. This was what a team should be. When the final buzzer went off, Seirin had won 84-83 and as the crowd began to clap, Hana stood.

"Go Seirin!" She cupped her mouth with her hands and screamed, "You did it! Woo!"

Uoya stood up with her, followed by Kitano a second later, "Yeah! Seirin!"

Iseri remained quiet, but his eyes were proud. Seirin had already filed out and Kirisaki was following after them. Her eyes followed Torio and Hana let out a low growl, _that slimy, nasty, piece of shit._ Unbeknownst to her team, Hana had slunk off while they were cheering. It was time to confront her old mentor.

* * *

It was dark when Hana got outside. The sun had set during the game and it made the whole situation more intense. What was she going to say? What was she going to do? More importantly, _what was he going to say?_ Torio was a wild card and there were two ways he'd react to her confrontation. Either in anger or that stupidly smooth smile he always pulled when she got riled up.

And to think! She thought he'd changed! Last night had been great, it was just like old times. She should have known, dammit. She should have _known!  
_ The man she looked up to was gone. The boy that had helped her learn to be herself, who had taught her how to be brave. The one that spent hours after school helping Kitano practice, the one that would encourage the team no matter how badly they failed. The captain that worked them to the bone, just so they could succeed.

He'd been replaced by a darker version of himself. He'd let the envy and jealously over take him. All that was left of her prized mentor was this shallow villain.

Hana forced herself to stop reminiscing, it was only going to make this harder. She had to say something, she had to know how he could stand for this. _How could he let that happen to someone? Did he finally let go of the few morals he had left?_ Her feet were slamming into the concrete as Hana made her way outside. She even went as far as to push a couple boys out of her way. Kirisaki wasn't in sight, but she could feel them. They had to be somewhere around here.

After walking through the double glass doors, Hana saw her target. Hanamiya was talking to Torio right underneath the street light. Both boys had intense faces and as Hana marched forward she began to pick up words.

"She was there, Hanamiya! She saw _everything,"_ Torio was practically spitting, "How am I supposed to do this!"

Hearing Hanamiya speak for the first time was an experience. Damn, that kid's voice was smooth. The uncrowned king lifted an unconcerned shoulder, "It's your problem. You're the one that owes me."

"And I would have paid you back! But she still has it!"

 _Still has what?_ Hana's mind began to whirl and her feet paused. She needed to hear this conversation. As she watched, Hanamiya let a smirk crawl over his face, "You haven't made much progress, trash."

"I've tried goddamn everything," Torio snarled and his hand came up to tug at his hair, "I tried to get into her pants, god knows that didn't work. I got her away from those damn Miracles and it was only a matter of time! I could have convinced her!"

"You don't need her," Hanamiya's laugh was cutting, "All I need is the information. I could care less about your little bitch."

"If I had got her into Kirisaki Daiichi, you would have had two of us," Torio spat, "Do you know what you could do—"

"I don't care," The uncrowned king let out a slow sigh, "Just get the information. I don't give a shit how you do it."

"Hanamiya—"

"If you don't stop talking then I'll make you, trash."

Have you ever been so pissed your vision goes white? The sounds bleed out? You can't taste anything other than blood on your lips? Hana had always had a temper, a pretty damn strong one. There were just some things that made her unhinged. Being used was one of them, as discovered by Akashi, and being lied to was an even bigger one. _Not to mention, did I hear him say he was trying to get in my pants? I'll make sure you have nothing left to stick in, you goddamn snake._

Some people punch walls when they're angry. Some people punch people. Some people cry. Some people get so mad they go silent. Frankly, Hana wasn't sure which person she was, but she was about to find out. Stalking toward Torio, her vision began to bleed red and all she could see was his stupid face. The two players finally noticed her, but it was too late for her to stop. One second she was walking, the next second her fist had slammed into Torio's mouth. _Guess I'm the violent type, who would have figured?_

The punch had power, Hana was pleased to note. As her knuckles began to burn, her eyes narrowed in on Torio's face. When her fist connected, his face had been jolted to the side by the impact. It hadn't knocked him out or anything, but the red mark on his face was enough to please her. Torio brought a hand up to his jaw and his eyes fixated in on her face, shocked.

In the background, Hanamiya let out another snarky comment, "I'm guessing this is the bitch."

"You _fucker,"_ Hana snarled toward Torio, "You've been playing me since you got here."

"Flower—"

"I don't want to hear a single excuse come out of your mouth," Hana spat, "You better start telling me everything and I want the goddamn truth!"

Still rubbing his cheek, Torio stood, "I think we should have this conversation—"

"Don't stop on my account," Hanamiya interrupted, "This was just getting interesting."

" _You,"_ Hana spun around and stalked toward the king, "Screw off. I don't give a damn about your reputation, I've faced scarier beasts in my sleep. You sick, little lowlife."

"Feisty, huh?" Hanamiya was still smirking, but his eyes had gone cold, "You should watch your mouth, doll face."

Her fists flexed in on themselves and Hana winced at how sore her right hand was. The tension surrounding them could be cut with a knife, or maybe a chainsaw. Her eyes stayed locked on Hanamiya's in challenge and the boy didn't seem to like it. His large eyebrows furrowed before hazel eyes narrowed on her and Hana saw the softest hint of a snarl break out.

"Hanamiya!" Torio interjected, "Flower, stop. Talk to me."

"Then talk! Stop standing there!" Her voice came out sharp as she took a step away from Hanamiya, just in case, "Say whatever you have to say! _Nothing_ will fix this. What the hell did I hear?"

"Don't play dumb, you understand," Torio had straightened up and his mask had slipped back on, "I owe Hanamiya. He got me out of trouble earlier this year and I'm working off my debt. That's where you come in."

The way he said it so callously had her fuming again. He was using her as a twisted form of payment? _Hell no_. Her mouth started running before Hana could comprehend the possible complications.

"No," Hana growled, "I'm not a part of this- I will never be a part of this! You're just as bad as Akashi! Probably worse!"

"Don't say that," This time Torio growled back, "I will never compare to them!"

"You don't," Hana held firm as Torio's anger spiked, "You're worse."

"I'm nothing like them! They destroy _everything,_ don't you know that? I was so close and they destroyed it!"

"You're a petulant child who hasn't had a nap," her green eyes flashed and she stepped closed, her fist begging to be swung, "That happened two years ago. _Two years,_ Torio. Just face it! You weren't good enough to get to first string, even without them—"

The shove startled her and Hana's eyes widened at Torio's intense glare and snarl, "Shut up."

His face was flushed in fury and Hana would bet hers looked this same. This fight was more intense than any one they'd had previously. She still didn't know what was going on and from the look on Torio's face, he had forgotten all about the original problem too. Hana knew it had been a low blow to use his insecurities against him, but she hadn't expected him to get _that_ mad.

"Hey, idiots," Hanamiya interjected this time, "As fun as this is, now's not the place."

 _Who'd have known he'd be the voice of common sense?_ She took a deep breath before stepping back again, "… He's right. I need to know what the hell you were talking about then I'll leave. After that, we'll never see each other again."

"The binder," Torio's barked out, apparently still pissed, "The thing I left behind. All the information, _everything,_ we had. I need it."

"- information," Hana repeated his earlier words. The time the two spent working on that binder flashed in her mind. How they would go to games all over the district, just to scout out more information. How he taught her to lie so she could talk to the members one on one. _All that info… all that stuff about the miracles. In the hands of this team? Hell no._ She repeated her thought process, "Hell no."

"Do you know how much you _owe me?_ Everything I did for y—" Torio was cut off by Hanamiya.

"Ah," Hanamiya's voice was back to the slimy quality, "I don't think you have a choice."

The glare she sent Hanamiya could have melted ice and she found herself unconsciously repeating Akashi's words, "I always have a choice. I'd never give anything to someone as low as you."

"You don't even know me," Hanamiya's voice was teasing; in a dark, sadistic way. He was enjoying this, Hana realized. He enjoyed watching them in pain, he enjoyed watching them argue, he enjoyed the conflict. _He'd enjoyed smashing Kiyoshi's knee and destroying his life._ _  
_

"I know a piece of shit when I see one," her eyes traveled to the ground, before she flicked them up to his face and gave him a sickly-sweet smile, "And I'm looking at the biggest pile of shit I've seen in a while."

Hanamiya took a step forward and Hana did the same. She didn't know where this new sense of bravery came, but she was going to milk it for all it's worth. _  
_They were standing about a foot apart when Hana noticed something. As she was distracted, the king spoke, "I think I warned you about that mouth of yours."

"You did, but lots of people do," Hana replied, _now or never._ Instead of stopping like Hanamiya, she continued to walk toward him. Her shoulder slammed into his own and she gave him another innocent smile, "My bad. You're just so insignificant, I forgot you were there."

She didn't give him a chance to respond, but Torio still called after her retreating back, "Hana!"

Her reply wasn't verbal. A single finger lifted in the air was enough to get her message across. When she was finally a safe distance away, Hana called back to the two boys, "Just a friendly reminder! Karma's a bitch!"

She didn't see Hanamiya's smirk or Torio's grimace.

* * *

Finding her wayward team members was pretty easy. Just look for the three idiots freaking out, _okay Iseri's never freaks, but he does look concerned_. They were still inside the stadium when Hana found them. Speeding up her pace, she reached Uoya first and latched onto his sleeve.

"Where were you?! We looked everywhere!" Uoya's voice was drowned out as Hana went and grabbed Kitano's sleeve. The bald boy gave a curse before he was being tugged along too. Iseri followed without complaint.

"We need to go," Hana's voice had finally started shaking, "I just did something stupid and we should go. Like _now."_

"What's the rush?" Kitano retorted as he was dragged along, "And stop pulling my shirt! You stretch them all out."

"Shut up," her nerves were kicking in and Hana sped up, "Oh man."

The item in her pocket felt like a burning ember and her hand still hurt from that punch. It was definitely going to be bruised over tomorrow. During the confrontation, her smart mouth had been a great advantage. But now, now, she was rethinking that whole conversation and realizing that she had just done the stupidest thing on the planet. _That guy breaks literal bones!_

"Hana-chan?" Her ever calm and conscientious captain spoke, "Can you explain?"

Like she always does when she gets into her nervous fits, Hana began to babble, "I confronted Torio. Torio was with Hanamiya. I punched Torio, I cussed out Hanamiya. Me and Torio do not like each other anymore. I am running because I did a very stupid thing… _Oh god, he's going to know it was me!"_

Uoya was the only one who could understand her jumbled mess, "What did you do?"

"Oh man, oh man. Speed up," Hana pulled her friends faster before she broke into a jog, "I said Karma's a bitch, he's going to know!"

"Hana!" Uoya and Kitano spoke at the same time.

"I stole his wallet! I was pissed and it was there and it seemed like a good thing to do!"

That was all she needed to say before the whole group began to run. She could hear Kitano and Uoya cursing in the background and she even heard Iseri's occasional comment on her idiocy, but she didn't stop. They ran for fifteen minutes before taking a break on a street four blocks down from the stadium. The yellow light drenched them in shadows as they all worked to regain their energy.

Uoya collapsed to the floor and groaned, "I hate you. Oh man, I hate you."

Kitano, who was leaning against a store front, agreed, "I wish I never met you."

"Please," even Iseri seemed out of breath, "Please stop angering people who will likely murder you. It seems to be a terrible habit of yours."

Sinking to her butt, Hana laid down on the dirty sidewalk. Her hand went into her pocket and fiddled with the worn leather of Hanamiya's wallet, dazed. As she listened to the harsh breathing from her friends, she felt bad for a minute until a choked laugh escaped. Bringing a hand up, Hana tried to smother it, but couldn't. _I actually did that… I'm insane!_

The hysterical giggles just grew louder and louder until Hana had tears streaming down her cheeks. She could feel everyone staring, but didn't stop. _What the hell, I deserve to laugh after the week I've had._

When she calmed down, the smile wouldn't leave her face, "I love you guys."

* * *

 ** _Reviews: (they aren't showing up on fanfiction, but I still get the shortened email version. Anyway, my responses might be lacking and I'm sorry)_**

 ** _Arrah: Sorry about Midorima! All will be fixed eventually. Thank you for your review!_**

 ** _Acacias: Your welcome! Thank you for your review!_**

 ** _Naliyu: She won't join them, as you can see! Thank you for the review!_**

 ** _Crystal Violet: Thank you for your reviews! I appreciate the feedback and I'm sorry for the heartbreak ): anyway, thank you a ton!_**

 ** _030Artistic: It got real. Thank you!_**

 ** _amgs: You guys are so good to me! Thank you! The GoM will be back soon, promise!_**

 ** _AngelicHallows: Awhhh, thank you! You're so nice. And I think one more chapter before highschool? Hopefully._**

 ** _RedRaspberries: Yes, she left! And yes, Torio was bad... at least he got punched, ey? Thank you!_**

 ** _ArchangelKoriel: It happppened! But, it will be okay. Thanks!_**

 ** _FrizzleChicken: Thank you for that awesome review! Sorry about Torio... opps. I love reunions too, that'll be fun!_**

 ** _JeyaMendoza: Ahh, I can't see all your review and it makes me sad. Anyway, I'm sorry that last chapter was so sad... I apologize heartily! Thank you for the awesome review tho! The part I could read made me smile._**

 ** _JustCallMeWhatever: It was a plan! Le gasp. Thank you!_**

 ** _TheParadoxicalOxymoron: Nah, he's just a dick. I'm sorry for the depression! Thank you for the review and I won't burn out (i think)! Your concern feels nice though, thank you!_**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello! A new chapter for the happy holidays! It's got a lot of warm and fuzzies in here... Also some sadness, middle school has ended. Seirin also makes an appearance and hopefully they aren't too out of character. I just want to say thank you to everyone! Your reviews mean so much to me and are some of the greatest presents I could ever get! Enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Warnings : Bad language, violence, and terrible editing. **

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke_. **

* * *

The End of a Saga and New Friends

That morning, Hana had woken up in a fantastic mood. Her dreams had consisted of murder and vengeance on two certain assholes, Torio and Hanamiya. Hopping out of bed with a dark smile, Hana had made her way downstairs for breakfast. Unfortunately, people have life altering revelations at some weird moments and for Hana it occurred as she was eating her first bite of cereal.

"…I should get a knife," the spoon of milk saturated oats hung in the air, "I should really get a knife."

Her dad walked into the room a moment after the words left her mouth, "What are you talking about?"

"Uh," how could she explain? She didn't want to get grounded… Or worse, more child labor. Sheepish eyes blinked up at her father, "I made an enemy."

"Is that why your hand's bruised?" her father didn't sound surprised and Hana cursed his observation skills. Making his way to the coffee pot, he gave her a once over, "You don't look beat up, so I'm guessing you got the final punch."

"…" This was a conversation she didn't want to have with a parental figure, "Sure?"

"So, who was it?" He sat down in the seat in front of her. Despite the careless attitude he was radiating, Hana knew better. Her answer to this question could either seal her fate or let her go scotch free. _Better to tell the truth in this situation._

"Torio," the words came out with a scowl, "He wanted my manager notebook."

"—Really?" Hana didn't like the way her dad's eyes lit up, "I always hated that kid."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Her mouth gawked open. _He could have saved me so much trouble!_

"I figured you should make your own friends," his shoulders shrugged before he lifted the coffee to his mouth, "Besides, you'd never listen to me. You loved that kid."

"Ehhh, love is a strong word," Hana grimaced, "Let's go with a different one."

"Whatever you say, honey," the sharp look returned to her father's eyes, "Now that I know who you punched, why don't you explain why you need a knife? Even though I never liked that kid, I don't think he'd go as far to threaten you."

 _Damn, figures it wasn't that easy_. Hana let out a defeated groan, "Can't you just forget all of that?"

"Nope," his tongue clicked before he shot her a grin, "You should just tell me. I promise I won't ground you for whatever you did."

"… Torio made a friend," Hana admitted grudgingly, "I may have angered his friend by taking something that belongs to him."

Her father paused, "You didn't," his hand came up to rub through his hair, "You did. Hana, we've talked about this! I thought you learned after the episode with your mom's boyfriend."

That was the reason Hana didn't go to her mother's house anymore. Her mom's first or second, or maybe third, boyfriend had been a jerk. Like king jerk of all jerkoffs. His name was Don, or something generic like that, and Hana was an impressionable ten-year-old. Don had taken her out to the movies one night and wandered off, leaving Hana in the packed theater. Turns out the movie playing featured a cat who was a thief and _well…_ Her cinematic inspired revenge hadn't achieved the desired response with her mom.

"I did!" Hana argued as she came out of the flashback, "I didn't get caught this time!"

"…That's not what I meant," Her father grumbled before drinking the rest of his coffee in one gulp, "I've got a pocket knife in my nightstand. If you use it for anything other than self-defense, I will make sure you never leave this house until you're twenty."

"Wait, really?" Hana hopped up in excitement, cereal forgotten behind her. She was about to dart up the staircase when her father's voice called back to her.

"While you're up there, grab your phone," she heard his cup clang in the sink before the rest of his sentence came, "I'll hold onto it until your birthday."

 _God dammit, I've been played._ Face transforming into a pout, Hana slouched over, "I thought you said you wouldn't ground me? And that's three months away!"

"I said I wouldn't ground you for whatever trouble you got into yesterday," her dad came out of the kitchen and gave Hana a familiar smug smile, "This is for coming home at five in the morning the other day."

Hana's face blanched, "You knew?"

"I knew," he let out a snort, "You can't be quiet if you try. Hurry up and get your phone or I'll add to it."

"You wouldn't," her eyes narrowed on his face. In return, he just gave her a smile. Hana's pout grew more pronounced, _he would._

"You can still leave the house," her father continued explaining the rules of her grounding, "But if you pull that stunt again, I'm putting a pad lock on your door."

"…" with her new punishment hanging over her head, Hana sulked up the stairs, "Fine."

"And stop stealing things!"

"… yes, sir."

* * *

Despite her characteristic horribleness, Hana considered herself to be a pretty nice person. She didn't kick puppies or anything like that. She'd helped an old lady cross the street, once, but it still counted. She'd helped her team become stronger, through different torture methods, but that part was irrelevant. All in all, she figured she could get into heaven if she tried. But extra karma points always come in handy.

This thought process was why Hana was scourging through her father's supply of left over pastries. She'd finished cleaning early that night and was taking advantage of the break. As her eyes scanned over all the available choices, they finally landed on a patch of multi-colored cupcakes in the display case. _What could it hurt?_ Grabbing a box, Hana loaded them up.

Now she just had to find out which hospital Kiyoshi had been admitted too. _Shouldn't be that hard…_

It was.

* * *

Hana had a loving yet hateful respect toward doors. On one hand, they protected her privacy and everyone else's. On the other hand, they hid things. For a person who enjoyed having all the latest information she could gather, doors were a pain. Staring at the metal door in front of her, Hana couldn't contain her nerves. What if he didn't want visitors? What if he didn't remember her? Should she knock?

"I should leave," Her words were directed to the box of cupcakes in her hand, "I bet a nurse could do this. I'll leave a get well soon note or something."

Her green eyes traveled back up to the door. It was mocking her, she could feel it. _What kind of coward is afraid of a door?_ Hana paused, _me, I'm the coward. I can face psychotic assholes, but I can't open a damn door._

Anyway, back to the present. The door in front of her was still closed and Hana was still staring at it. She wasn't sure how long she'd been here. It could be five minutes or it could be thirty. For security reasons, she hadn't brought her new knife to the hospital. Jail didn't sound too pleasant. _Although… Anything sounds better than opening this door._

"I'm leaving," she nodded to herself, "He probably doesn't even like chocolate. This was a stupid idea-"

The door opened. Hana's eyes fixated on the tiny space between the door frame and the door. As it started to steadily get bigger, her body decided to quit functioning. Every second felt like a life time until Hana was making eye contact with the Nijimura look-a-like from yesterday. His eyes connected with hers and they stared at each other in uncomfortable silence.

"…" Hana fidgeted, "Hello."

The boy blinked, "Hello?"

"Uhm, is this Kiyoshi Teppei's room?"

"It is," a nod accompanied his words, "Do you know him?"

"Yes," Hana paused, "Sort of. I think so?"

"…You think so?"

"I brought cupcakes," Hana didn't know what else to say. This was _awkward_. Why'd she ever think this was a good idea? At her statement, the boy looked at the box in her hands curiously. It set her on edge and Hana began to babble, "They're chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate, right? Do you like it? I don't know, you don't have to tell me if you do… I just thought, you know, he's hurt. Cupcakes are nice-"

"It's okay!" the boy cut her off, "Thank you. Did you want to see him? We're all here, but I'm sure we can walk out for a few minutes."

"No!"

The boy jolted and blinked again, "No?"

"Yes, wait no. Yeah, I mean no," Hana brought a hand up to her face and sighed, "This wasn't the plan…"

"Izuki-kun?" Someone new spoke out and Hana recognized the voice belonging to the girl from the game, "What are you doing?"

"Someone's at the door," the newly named Izuki spoke, "I'm trying to invite her in-"

"Shhh," Hana interrupted him, "Don't say that!"

"Who is it?" The girl's voice came back and suddenly the door was pulled all the way open. Hana came face to face with the short auburn haired girl and several other people in the background. Feeling like a deer in headlights, Hana brought the box of cupcakes up to cover her face. She could feel the heat from her blush already.

"Cupcakes," Hana mumbled in embarrassment, "Please just take the cupcakes."

"…Thank you," The girl sounded hesitant, "I'm Aida Riko?"

"Imamura Hana."

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Aida retrieved the box of cupcakes from Hana's hands and blinked at the sight of the girls scrunched up face, "Are you okay?"

"Other than dying of shame, I'm good," after releasing her hold on the cupcakes, Hana wrung her hands in front of her nervously, "This is weird. I should go."

"No, no! It's okay," Aida gave her a smile and Hana felt the tension relax slightly, "Do you know Teppei?"

"Sort of?"

Izuki let out a soft huff at Hana's answer, "I asked her that earlier and she said the exact thing."

 _Throw me under the bus, why don't you?_ Shooting Izuki a glare, Hana turned her attention back to the other girl, "Uhm, I met him once. Anyway, I saw the game yesterday… Hence the cupcakes."

"Oh," And just like that, the happy atmosphere radiating from Aida was gone, "Well, thank you, I'm sure Teppei will enjoy them."

"Yeeep," Hana moved her weight from side to side. Why was this so awkward? What was she supposed to say now? Goodbye? Instead of saying that, her mouth began to move on her own, "Hanamiya's a giant ass-licker."

No one spoke for a moment. Aida stared at her in shock, Izuki's mouth pressed together in a tight line, and Hana mentally stabbed herself. _Why am I so awkward? I'm a failure to humanity._ Her blush began to crawl up to her hairline and Hana had to squash the urge to curl in on herself. Thankfully, a sputtering noise distracted her and wide green eyes traveled up to Izuki. The boy was turned to the side, trying to cover his chuckles as his body shook with mirth.

"I'll agree to that," Izuki managed after he controlled his outburst, "You should come in. You said you've met him before, I'm sure he'd enjoy to see you."

"Errr," Hana trailed off and gave Aida a pleading glance. The girl ignored it in favor of looking Hana over contemplatively. _What is up with that? My shirts not stained, right?_ Waving a hand, Hana tried to decline, "He probably doesn't remember me—"

"It's fine!" Aida responded instead of Izuki, "He hasn't had many visitors and his grandparents just left. I'm sure he'd like to see someone new," The short brunette opened the door further and Hana twitched. _Really? This was not the plan._

"I was just going to drop off the cupcakes-" The door opened all the way and Hana sighed, "Or not."

Izuki was looking at her in expectation and Hana let out an inaudible sigh. Tentatively sticking a foot into the room, she peered around the two people to look at everyone else. They were all looking at her and _she didn't like it._ Hana was about to dart back out when the door was shut behind her. A smiling Aida let go of the door knob before heading back to her seat. Hana's eyes narrowed on the girls back, _sneaky._

What felt like eons later, Hana finally managed to do something other than stare, "Hello…"

"Hi!" That was the cat boy she'd noticed from yesterday and his mouth was curved up grin, "Who are you?"

"Imamura Hana," she trailed off. Her eyes traveled over to Kiyoshi who was leaning up in his bed with a stack of pillows behind him. His face was painted in a smile, unlike the boy with glasses who sat in a chair beside him. Glasses' eyes were narrowed on her and Hana had the distinct impression she was being sized up. _Okay, this is going down as the worst idea in history._

"I'm Koganei Shinji!" Cat boy, or Koganei, cut through the tension, "Did you bring those cupcakes?"

Hana twitched, "Yes. There's, uhm, like 14 so…"

That was all she needed to say before the box was open and Koganei had retrieved two, keeping one for himself and handing one to another boy beside him. Izuki was about to reach for one as well when they all paused.

"It's…" Koganei began as he eyed the cupcake, "It's very colorful?"

"You said these were chocolate?" Izuki questioned as he brought the multicolored cupcake up to eye level, "They're very strange looking."

"Yeah," the amount of embarrassment Hana was feeling could have killed a horse, "My dad makes them… He's a baker. They're weird, I know. If you don't like them you can just throw them away, I won't care! I promise! I just thought it might be a good ide- I'm shutting up now, sorry."

Again, all eyes were on her. It was like they were seeing a strange animal at the zoo, especially Izuki and Aida. Those two had some of the most analytical eyes Hana had ever seen, other than Akashi of course. Glasses was still watching her and Hana suspected he was looking for a hidden motive. _Can't really blame him for that._

Koganei and the tall boy beside him were examining the cupcakes. Finally, after what felt like years, the tall boy cautiously bit into the cupcake. A moment later his hands were waving through a strange combination of motions.

"Mitobe says it's really good!" Koganei spoke out of the blue, _was he translating that?_ "He said to tell you thank you!"

Okay, that was kind of weird. Hana struggled to find a response, but Kiyoshi cut her off, "Imamura-san, right? I remember you."

"You do?" She blinked. Hana had been excepting to explain how they knew each other, so this was a pleasant surprise. Her mouth began to move again, "You must be related to an elephant." _And foot meets mouth._

"Ah, no. I've been told I have a really bad memory," Kiyoshi was still smiling and Hana got the impression he did that a lot, "But you came to talk to me after my game with Teiko."

"Yeah," Hana tried to copy his smile, but it probably came out wrong. Her eyes traveled across the room while she tried to think of something to say, "Uhm, would you like a cupcake?"

"I'm not sure the nurse would approve," Kiyoshi's eyes crinkled in amusement, "But thank you for bringing them."

"Pssh," Hana scoffed before finally moving her body out of the doorway. As she found a vacant part of the wall to lean against, she smirked back at the hospitalized boy to hide her nerves, "The nurses don't have to know."

"Here," Izuki began around a bite of cupcake, "It's the nurses who call the shots."

"Ugh!" Hana jumped at the loud groan from everyone in the room, sans Mitobe and Kiyoshi, "No! No puns!"

The boy in question just gave a guilty grin before shrugging as he continued to nibble his cupcake. Glasses was frowning at him, but there was hint of fondness on his face that Hana appreciated. Maybe that meant he wasn't as scary as he seemed. Hana smiled a bit as she watched, _these guys seem like such a tight knit family, it's cute._

"What?" That was Koganei and his face was covered in a blush, "-Cute?!"

"Huh?" Hana blinked back into reality and found everyone staring at her, _again,_ "I'm sorry?"

"I think you were speaking your thoughts out loud, Imamura-san," Aida had a small grin on her face and it only grew as Hana's face flushed, "We are family, though."

"Yes, we are," That was glasses and Hana realized, with a growing sense of annoyance, that she still didn't know his name, "So how'd you hear about Kiyoshi's hospitalization?"

"Errr—" Dude, what was with this guy? Hana blinked at the glasses wearing teen before shrugging, "I was at the game and I saw it."

"You'll have to ignore Hyuuga-kun," Aida spoke before glasses could respond, "He's been temperamental since we've been here. We call this his clutch mood."

Hana's fingers snapped, "Ah ha! That's his name!"

Everyone sans Hyuuga sweat dropped at her loud exclamation. The boy himself developed a tick on his forehead and his glasses flashed, "You should have more respect-"

"You should eat a cupcake," Hana interrupted his incoming spiel. She didn't want to get into an argument with strangers, _especially in a hospital room_ , "I swear they're good."

Hyuuga didn't move to get a cupcake and Hana's awkward smile came back, _oh man I've made another enemy. Great._ Maybe she should leave? That was sounding like a wonderful idea right about now.

Slowly edging her way down the wall, Hana was trying to subtly make her way to the exit. She didn't think anyone would notice her attempted escape, but Izuki turned to her with a raised brow and she faltered.

"So, Imamura-san?" Aida spoke again, not noticing Hana's battle of wills with Izuki, "You go to Teiko? Are you in the basketball club?"

Breaking eye contact with Izuki, Hana turned back to Aida, "Sort of. I'm the manager for the second-string team. We aren't nearly as important."

"Oh," Aida blinked at that and some of the tension in the room bled out, "You must have a lot of members to have a second string-"

"124," Hana answered automatically before blushing. Of course, she just had to go and interrupt the nice lady, "Sorry, I swear I'm not usually this rude. Okay, that might be a generalization…."

Permanently removing her vocal chords was looking pretty good right now. Or learning how to teleport. Maybe she should just hide underneath Kiyoshi's bed, would she fit? Hana eyed the dark space in contemplation, _I bet they keep it nice and clean under there._ Speaking of Kiyoshi's bed, the boy sitting on top interrupted Hana's thoughts.

"You do have a way with words," Kiyoshi spoke from the bed, "They get your message across, though."

"Yeah," this time Hana let out a genuine laugh, even if it was soft, "Sorry about that, Kiyoshi-san. That had to be the worst pep talk you'd ever heard."

"It got the message across," Kiyoshi laughed with her before pushing himself up. His eyes trailed over her for a second and he let another smile cover his face, "I'm glad you told me to go check on my teammates."

"…" Hana narrowed her eyes on him, "You're an elephant, there is no doubt about it. I thought you said you had a shitty memory; how do you even remember that?"

"I told you it was a good pep talk," he laughed again and Hana found herself smiling with him, "I hope this isn't too personal, Imamura-san, but is your hand okay?"

Well, that wiped the smile off her face. For a second, Hana just stared at him, unsure of how to answer. How'd he even notice? _Damn, elephant._ In reflex her hand squeezed together and Hana flinched at the sting on her bruised knuckles. Putting on a strained smile, she finally replied, "Yeah, it's fine."

"Alright," Kiyoshi didn't question further and Hana appreciated it. Talking to strangers about her personal problems wasn't high on her to-do list. Her growing appreciation was squashed when Kiyoshi continued, "You know, you can sit down. I promise we don't bite."

"I'm not sure-"

"It's fine," Aida was the one to speak this time, "Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions? We've just formed our basketball club and I'd love to hear about the organization of Teiko's club."

"Okay, but—"

"Hm," Beside Aida, Izuki looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "-the organs of the organization."

As everyone else let out an echoing groan and Hyuuga reached across the hospital bed to punch Izuki, Hana quirked a brow. _That was actually pretty good._

An hour later, Hana had come to realization that Seirin was _insane._ The calm Aida that she'd been greeted with was later found out to possess many different moods that could change at the drop of a hat. That whole kind and calm act was a huge façade. The collected Izuki was _obsessed_ with puns. Hana had never heard so many in her life; good, bad, or otherwise. She even wrote a few of them down… for informational proposes, of course.

The injured Kiyoshi was not as clueless as he appeared and caught onto everything, especially concerning his teammates. Koganei and Mitobe were entertaining in an odd way… the two shared an interesting symbiotic relationship; like that shark that let fish live in its mouth. Finally, even though Hyuuga didn't seem to like her very much, Hana learned that he really cared for his teammates. Also, that boy had a crazy personality shift. That clutch mood thing was _scary._

"Okay," Hana spoke after calming down from her laughter; Koganei was hilarious _,_ "I need to go… I shouldn't have stuck around this long, I'm sorry for interrupting."

"It's fine," Aida was smiling, "It was a welcomed change from hanging out with these guys all day."

"If you say so," Hana returned the smile before gathering her bag and standing. Turning to Kiyoshi, she gave him a wave, "Hope you get better soon. Get back out there and kick some ass."

"That's the plan," Kiyoshi let out a soft chuckle before his face turned serious, "Would you like someone to walk you down there? I bet it's dark out by now."

"That's okay—"

"I'll do it," Hyuuga spoke up as he stood, stretching his arms above his head, "I need to stretch my legs a bit."

"It's alright—"

Ignoring her, Hyuuga walked forward, "Come on, then."

"But—I? That's it… He hates me," Hana grumbled under her breath as she stared after his back, oblivious to everyone listening around her, "I've met him once and he hates me. Figures."

"Bye, Imamura-san!" Koganei called out as the door shut behind her. She didn't hear him speak the rest of his thoughts to his teammates, "She was kind of cute!"

She also didn't hear the punch his coach gifted him.

The walk through the hospital was a whole other level of uncomfortable. Hyuuga wasn't talking to her and Hana was doing the same. She didn't know what his deal was, but she'd come to understand some people wouldn't like her. In fact, most people didn't like her. It wasn't a big deal now-a-days. Hana accepted herself for who she was, _but still, I haven't done anything to him. Right?_

The stiffness finally got to her and Hana opened her mouth, "Hey, Hyuuga-san?"

"Yes?" The boy shot her a look over his shoulder and Hana was pleased to note the lack of hostility. Maybe she just caught him on a bad day. After all, she wouldn't be surprised with the current circumstances.

"Not trying to be rude or anything," Hana trailed off, "But it seems like you don't like me? Not a big deal if you don't—I swear, just sating my curiosity."

"…" Hyuuga let out a long sigh and for a second, Hana didn't think we was going to reply. They rounded a corner and he finally spoke, "It's not you. I don't like your school… though I shouldn't judge you off that."

"Nah," Hana let out a humorless chuckle, "I get it. I'm guessing you faced the Miracles?"

"I did, but we weren't a strong team to begin with," Hyuuga answered. The conversation fizzled out again until they reached the main entry of the hospital, "It took me a while to get back into basketball after that… Kiyoshi helped me get over it."

"Kiyoshi-san's pretty cool," Hana agreed, "Did you know the first time I met him, he'd just got his ass handed to him by the miracles? Not the best circumstances, but he got up and kept trying."

"Yeah…" Hyuuga cracked a smile and Hana applauded herself, "He's good at that."

"Don't let this get you down," Hana advised as the two made their way out the front door. Becoming the local consoler hadn't been on her to-do list, but she'd roll with it. They came to a stop outside and Hana turned to him with a bright grin, "Just get stronger and destroy them. Best moto to live by, for sure."

Huffing, Hyuuga looked away from her. His hands came forward to cross over his chest and he gave her a look, "I'll remember that. Thanks for coming today, Kiyoshi appreciated it."

"Bah," Hana scoffed, "I was just racking up some good karma points."

"Well," He turned back to her and gave her a once over, "You're alright, Imamura-san. I'm sorry if I offended you, but as you can tell the situation isn't the best. If you'd learn some respect, I bet we'd get along."

"We're getting along right now, aren't we?" Hana offered him a cheeky grin and ignored his raised eyebrows, "Alright, Hyuuga- _senpai._ Happy?"

"Work on it," his critique was ruined by the smirk he wore on his face, "Well, if you're ever in the area, you should stop by again."

"Eh, maybe," Hana shrugged as Hyuuga turned around. As she watched him walk away, Hana's memory sparked and she yelled after him, "Wait! Hyuuga-senpai!"

He turned around, "Yeah?"

"I had something else," Hana pulled her back to the front of her shoulder and began to rummage through it, ignoring all the papers and trash that fluttered to the floor, "Okay, I know I had it, the hell is it? Is that it? Nope… Oh! There it is!"

"Imamura-san?" Hyuuga sweatdropped.

"I found it! No worries," Hana pulled Hanamiya's wallet out of its hiding spot and looked down at it with a smirk, "I was going to give this to Kiyoshi, but I don't think he'd be too impressed. You, on the other hand, might appreciate it."

Hana tossed the wallet to him and he caught it with one hand. Peering down at it, Hyuuga looked back up to her with a raised brow, "What is this?"

"Uhm," Hana didn't know how to properly explain that, "Don't ask questions. Personally, I'd just take the money and toss the rest of it."

Frowning, Hyuuga opened the wallet and he almost dropped it from shock. The face of Hanamiya greeted him and his eyes scanned over the student ID card disbelievingly before fiddling with the rest of the card compartments, "What?! Where did you get this?"

"Well, let's just say I had a close encounter with the asshole," Hana didn't elaborate, but Hyuuga wasn't sure the evil grin she wore was a promising sign, "Anyway, take the money and buy Kiyoshi a gift at the store or something; but seriously, toss it afterwards. That boy is scary as shit."

"…" He couldn't get his voice to work for a moment and it gaped open, "Alright?"

"Great! Well I'm going to go now," Hana gave him a wave before turning on her heel. The street was clear and Hana was looking forward to the short walk to the bus station. It would give her a chance to think over this new development. So many people in one day was a bit overwhelming. Not to mention it made her heart ache… _They really care about each other_.

"Imamura!" The voice of Hyuuga had her stopping and Hana turned on her heel to face him, "Do you know what high school you're going to?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Hana scowled at the thought. No, she hadn't looked into the possible high schools. Just the thought made her depressed; it was going to be a pain trying to find a place that would accept her mediocre grades and lack of accomplishments. Not to mention, she really didn't want to go to school with any of the miracles.

"Well," Hyuuga had a thoughtful expression on his face and Hana blinked, "Seirin's accepting most students, you should apply."

"… I'll see."

"Hope you choose to come," Hyuuga continued, "I think you'd like the basketball club. We don't have a manager at the moment, either."

"Alright," Hana's voice came out dazed. That had been an unexpected offer, "I'll consider it. See you, Hyuuga-senpai."

"Good luck, brat."

"Brat?!"

Her response was ignored as Hyuuga made his way into the hospital. In turn, Hana began to walk back to the bus station. Her mind was whirling with his parting words and an uncontrollable smile spread across her lips. That had been unpredicted, but at the same time it just opened a whole range of new possibilities. What kind of basketball prodigy would go to a brand-new school? Not the miracles, that's for sure. _Seirin, huh?_

Two weeks later and Hana was following Hyuuga's advice by standing in front of the same door. This time though, she opened it without a hint of worry. Her head peered into the room and Hana offered a self-conscious smile toward Kiyoshi, "Hey, Kiyoshi-san? Are you up for another visitor?"

He gave her an eye-crinkling smile and Hana was invited inside. The only other person there was Aida, who now insisted on being called Riko. Conversation flowed smoothly and Hana decided she liked the eccentric coach. They had several similarities, including their love of basketball and strenuous practice methods. Not to mention their shared envy about the female population with large bosoms. On that note, she thought Riko took a little too much pleasure in the fact that Hana was a smaller cup-size then her.

That first visit was the start of a new friendship and Hana _swore_ it would never ruin itself like past examples. Every time she visited, it strengthened the new bond and her desire to go to Seirin grew. Remembering all the trouble she'd gone through in the past year only made her more determined. Hana was a new person now and she wasn't going to accept anything less than the best.

As it turned out, Seirin fit the label quite well.

* * *

November 20th was a very special day. It was the day Hana forced herself out of her mothers womb, screaming and crying and causing a wonderful mess of tiny baby problems. She'd like to say she was the cute little baby every parent dreams about, but that'd be wrong. As a child, Hana was a menace. According to her father she chewed everything in sight, threw up all the time, and destroyed precious items passed down from her grandparents. It was a good predictor for her future behavior.

Back to the subject of birthdays. Now that she was fourteen, Hana had long since given up on some sort of miracle to happen for her birthday. She used to think she'd develop magical powers, get accepted into a boarding school for ninja's, or grow boobs. So far, none of the above had happened. This time she was just hoping for some money.

This year she was lucky in the fact that her birthday occurred on a Sunday. Saturday would have been better, of course, but she'd count her blessings. Sunday's meant she didn't have to go to school. Her father still had to work, but she could deal with that. He worked a lot, after all. It shouldn't surprise her anymore.

What she couldn't deal with were the three idiots waking her up at eight o'clock that morning.

"Hana-chan!" That was all the warning she got before Uoya's body landed on top of her, "Happy birthday!"

"Uoya-kun-"

"Oi, Uoya-"

The cautions came too late. As soon as his body began to roll, Hana sprung out of her pillow cave and attacked. The screaming that echoed through her room jolted Nūdoru out of his slumber and the dog hopped on the bed to join the fight. Poor Uoya was trapped in Hana's chokehold and Nūdoru was attacking his face with slobbery kisses. At the door, Kitano and Iseri both blanched before slowly stepping back out into the hallway.

Meanwhile, Uoya tried to get away from Hana's open mouth, "Stop—Hana! Your breath stinks!"

"Suffocate," Hana wrapped the blanket tighter around them and Nūdoru, "Let the stench destroy you."

"Help me!"

Eventually, Kitano and Iseri intervened and saved Uoya from his fate. Hana was satisfied with his disgruntled expression and she crawled out of bed to go brush her teeth. The sight that greeted her was her normal monstrous morning face, aside from her new fluffy hair-do. _Stupid Uoya and his stupid self,_ Hana tried to brush her hair down, but it didn't budge. _I wonder if he'll cut it…_

Padding out of her bathroom, Hana blinked at the puppy pile on her bed. Literal puppy pile, people. Nūdoru was laying happily on top of all three boys and his tongue was lolling out as he ignored their struggling. On the bottom of the pile, Kitano looked disgusted and he had drool dribbling down his forehead. On top of Kitano, Uoya looked defeated. He knew better then to fight it. Finally, Iseri looked quite comfortable. He was at the top of the pile with only Nūdoru resting on top of him.

"I'm not going to ask," Hana mumbled before continuing to her closet. Her voice echoed back into her room, "Are we doing anything today?"

"Yes," Iseri answered her, "You have a surprise party this afternoon."

Pausing in her pursuit of underwear, Hana raised an incredulous eyebrow, "… aren't surprise parties, you know, supposed to be a surprise?"

"Yeah," Uoya groaned out from his part of the pile, "But we couldn't hide it from you. We thought it'd be better to put it out in the open, so you don't mess it up."

Hana scoffed as she pulled a tank top on, "I wouldn't mess up my own party—"

"You would."

"Okay, you three have got to stop that," Hana scowled before bending down to look for a clean jacket, "It was cool the first few times, but it's getting annoying."

"No."

"Stop talking in sync!"

All in all, Hana was impressed. The first part of the day began by going to a fancy coffee house in downtown Tokyo. Iseri had paid for her coffee and they had listened to the happy bustle of the café for several hours. Unfortunately, it didn't last and they got kicked out a little after noon. After that, they had taken her to an aquarium and Hana had learned a new fear. She was _terrified_ of sharks. All those damn teeth.

At least the turtles were cute.

Now, all four of them were stuffed into Kitano's dad's car. It was a tight fit and Hana was practically sitting in Uoya's lap. A fact he was _not_ happy about. Hana wasn't sure where they were going; they'd passed her house a while back. Meanwhile, Kitano's dad was humming a happy tune in the front seat and Hana could see his black sweater was coated with cat hair. _Cats,_ her nose wrinkled, _the sharks of land._

"So…" Hana peered out the window, "Are we going to Iseri's?"

"Yeah," Uoya squirmed away from her, "Stop leaning on me, your hip bones are pointy."

Just for that, Hana shoved her hip further into him, "Deal with it. I'm the princess for the day."

"Princess of pain," Kitano scoffed from the passenger seat, "If you were ever royalty, all your subjects would revolt and kill you."

"Nope," Hana countered, "I'll have you know, I'm a very kind leader. Free puppies for all."

On her other side, Iseri frowned, "Why would you do that?"

Hana blinked at his cluelessness, "To have an army entirely composed of dogs. Obviously."

"Of course," Uoya groaned and Hana had a feeling he wanted to push her out the car, "Nothing you ever say can be normal."

"It's part of my charm."

The rest of the ride went by normally and the four teenagers were dropped off at Iseri's house. Kitano's dad had sped away and Hana would bet money he was happy to get rid of them. For some reason, all their parents were a little iffy on their friendship. It probably had something to do with Hana's influence… They didn't want their precious angels to be corrupted. _Well, too bad for them._

As they stepped out the car, hands came to rest over her eyes. Hana twitched at the action, she hated when they did this. What good was it? They already ruined the surprise part of the surprise party. What did covering her eyes do?

Hana growled, "Whose hands are these?"

"Ahaha," That was Uoya and Hana marked his name down on the to-kill list, "Don't be mad! I swear there's a good reason!"

"It better be a very—" Hana tripped over her own feet, "Uoya! You're going to make me fall!"

Uoya gulped at her tone, "I'm sorry!"

"Just carry her," Kitano called from up ahead and Hana heard him open the door, "She's the princess, shouldn't be a problem!"

"Don't-" Hana cut herself off when the was lifted into the air. She regained her sight for a moment before her eyes were covered again, "Okay, how the hell did you do that? Who's carrying me?"

"I am," Iseri's chest vibrated, "Uoya-kun is still covering your eyes. Mind the door please-" she heard a thump as someone's body hit the door frame, "… Uoya-kun, really?"

"I can't help it!" Uoya responded, "You have a tiny door!"

 _Clumsy oaf._ The thought made Hana bristle, "If you two drop me, I swear."

"We won't drop you," Iseri responded and Hana could just _sense_ his annoyance, "Kitano-kun? Would you please pull that chair out?"

"On it!" Kitano called back, "Wait, which one? There's like three."

"It doesn't matter," Iseri deadpanned. Behind the cover of Uoya's hand, Hana rolled her eyes. _Bunch of loveable idiots. I wonder if I've accidentally beaten a few too many brain cells out?_

"Can I let go now?" Uoya questioned, "The longer I cover her eyes, the more pain I'll get."

"No," Hana was lifted higher into Iseri's arms with his reply, "Is everything ready?"

Kitano was the one who responded as he finally dragged a chair out, "Yeah, we're all good. You can put her down now."

With all the dignity of a dying man, Hana was dropped into the chair. Uoya released his hold on her eyes and Hana blinked at the bright light of Iseri's kitchen. In front of her was a small pile of presents and a cake. It was a cute cake, Hana could admit. The purple icing matched well with the white flowers painted on the top. Twisting her head, Hana gave a smile to the three boys around her.

"Thanks guys-" Hana's voice cut off as the sight of a fourth person registered. When she finally recovered, her voice came out hoarsely, "… Momoi?"

 _Oh my god, it's really her._ Hana's mind felt like a broken record as she gaped at the fellow manager. The pink haired girl was sitting on Iseri's counter top and her face broke into a sweet smile, "Hey, Ima-chan… Happy birthday."

"You—" Hana tried to get her mind around everything and she felt salt water build up in her eyes, "You're here? You aren't mad?"

At her words, the smile on Momoi's face lost a little of its shine, "No, I was never mad about what happened. I'm actually really sorry about everything… I hope you can forgive me?"

"…" Hana couldn't stop the happy tears that dripped down her face and she started to laugh through her sobs. Hopping out her chair, Hana tackled Momoi into a hug, "Yes!"

"Wah! Ima-chan! I'm going to fall!"

"I missed you!" Hana hugged Momoi tighter and the other girl let out a weak cough as her eyes began to water as well, "I'm sorry! I broke my promise!"

"Awh! It's okay!" Momoi recovered from the assault and wrapped her arms around Hana in return, "I missed you too!"

The three boys watched in shock. The two girls began to wobble as they embraced each other, yet the hug continued. If their eyes weren't fooling them, the two girls were _sparkling._ Hana was sparkling! The manager of death was crying and smiling and _sparkling_! What was happening! As they stared, their mouths dropped open one by one. The girls began to chatter with each other in between their tearful hugs. It was like some cliché chick-flick movie.

"Have we fallen into a parallel universe?" Uoya whispered. His was terrified to interrupt the bonding in front of him… _This is sooo weird. Is this even Hana?_

"Yeah," Kitano's voice was equally quiet, "Or we've died and gone to hell."

"Shush, the both of you," Iseri hissed under his breath, "Don't interrupt this!"

"We aren't interrupting-" Kitano cut himself off, "Is that a camera?"

Without looking away from the scene, Iseri smiled before lifting the camera back up to his face, "I promised Coach I would get pictures." He snapped another picture and turned back to Kitano, "It was his idea after all."

* * *

The rest of the year was bitter-sweet. Hana's time was spent between Momoi, visiting Kiyoshi at the hospital, and training with her team. It had been a month since Iseri and Kitano retired from the basketball team. They still came to practice, but they were no longer allowed to participate in practice games. Speaking of retiring, Hana had found an apprentice. Sort of. The poor girl didn't know what hit her, but Hana had invited, or maybe blackmailed, her to join second string anyway.

Her name was Miura Akemi and well, she was alright. For a first year, Hana could admit the girl wasn't too annoying. Not to mention, the remaining team members _loved_ her. Miura had a gentle way about her and never pushed them around. The tall brunette girl always smiled with them and Hana had never heard her curse _once._ She was like a complete polar opposition to Hana, but if her team was happy, Hana would be too.

Speaking of her team, Uoya was _supposed_ to be promoted to captain with their retirement; but the greatest thing happened. As she watched her team practice, Hana remembered the conversation between all four of them fondly.

" _Guys," Uoya swallowed some of his drink to ease his nerves, "I have something to tell you."_

" _That doesn't sound promising, Uoya-kun," Iseri raised a brow, "What is it?"_

" _You didn't get arrested, right?" Hana added after Iseri. If he had been, Hana didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she'd be so proud! But on the other hand, that would be horrible… Uoya couldn't survive in jail._

 _Kitano asked his own question a moment later, "Did you finally get a girlfriend?"_

" _Guys!" Uoya brought his hands up to his cheeks, "No! I'm serious… please don't get mad."_

" _Woah, okay," Hana blinked at his tone, "Go ahead. We won't be mad, promise!"_

 _Taking a deep breath, Uoya began, "I have to turn down the captain position—"_

" _What!" Kitano stood up, "Why?! You'd be great!"_

" _I have to agree-" Iseri began, but Uoya cut him off._

" _Coach Sanada pulled me aside last week," Uoya let a faint smile cross over his face, "After the miracles graduate, I'm moving up to first-string."_

 _The third years froze. Kitano and Iseri gaped at the younger boy in astonishment, but Hana stood up with a scream. Uoya didn't know how it happened, but he suddenly had an armful of crying manager, "You did it! You actually did it! I'm so proud of you!"_

" _Hana-chan!" Uoya flailed around, "Don't cry!"_

" _They're good tears! I'm so happy!" Hana nuzzled into his chest, subsequently spreading wetness all over his shirt, "You have no idea how happy I am! You did it, Uoya! You did it!"_

 _Kitano stood up and joined the grouping. His hand ruffled Uoya's hair fondly, "I'm proud of you, little man."_

" _The first one of us to actually accomplish the goal," Iseri smirked at the overwhelmed second-year, "I'm glad we were here to see it. You'll do great, Uoya-kun."_

 _As all the praise registered, Uoya burst into a flaming blush before burying his head into Hana's hair, "You guys! You're going to make me emotional!"_

Transferring her mind back to reality, Hana smiled as Uoya worked with some of the first-year recruits. Her friend was laughing and Hana felt a soft pang in her heart, _he would have made a great captain._ Uoya got the ball from the first-year and shot in into the net and Hana's smile turned sad, _I'm going to miss seeing him every day… I'll just kidnap him on weekends._

Speaking of people she was going to miss, Hana's eyes trailed over to Iseri and Kitano who were sitting together on the bleachers. They hadn't talked about where they were all going to high school; it was supposed to be a surprise until they went to graduation. Hana knew where she was going, but she had _no idea_ where the other boys would go. She assumed Iseri would go with Kitano, but she wasn't positive.

As if they heard her thoughts, both boys looked up at her. Hana waved a hand and Iseri copied the gesture while Kitano stuck his tongue out. In return, Hana flicked the bald boy off. His laughter echoed across the whole gym and the players practicing stopped what they were doing to look. When Uoya registered what was happening, he rolled his eyes before continuing to teach the younger students. Beside him, the new captain, Sugamura, gave all three of them a bland look, yet his face held a hint of a smile.

Minutes later, she felt coach pat her on the shoulder as he walked by and Hana trailed her eyes after his back. That old man… she'd miss him too. Looking back to her team, Hana felt another soft pang as she watched, _my little team of assholes have grown-up._

Half a month later, graduation day finally came and Hana didn't know what to do. She'd sent in her application to Seirin months ago and she'd been accepted straight away. But now, everything felt like too much. She was leaving her school, her family, her memories and she wanted to cry. God, she'd been emotional this year… she blamed it on her female body. _Stupid puberty._

Hana had woken up early that day. Her mind refused to let her sleep and Hana spent most of the night curled up with Nuduru and working on her information. Back in November, her father had given her phone back to her, but it wasn't the _same_ phone. In honor of her day of birth, he had gone out and bought her a new model. When she found it on her bed the next morning, Hana's grin wouldn't leave her face.

The cheeky little note he'd left behind had sealed the deal; _Lots of memory on here! Maybe you should transfer your notes into this! Passwords are incredible technology!_

That's exactly what she did, but it had taken awhile. Last night was when she finally finished it and her eyes were reflecting her tired state. As Hana forced herself out of bed, she rubbed a tired hand over her face and meandered into the bathroom. Successfully showered and smelling nice, Hana was in the process of making her way to the closet only to pause.

Green eyes landed on Bernard and the long-forgotten necklace wrapped around the bear. Tugging her lip into her mouth, Hana made her way forward and knelt. Her fingers danced along the metal in nostalgia, "Sorry, Bernard, but I think I want this back."

She placed the necklace around her neck before smiling down at it. In the corner, Nūdoru perked up and tilted his head curiously. Transferring her smile to her dog, Hana spoke, "I bought it, I might as well wear it. Besides, I think it's cute."

Nūdoru's woof agreed with her.

* * *

She could feel the tears, dammit. _Stupid hormones, stupid body, stupid everything._ As Kitano hugged her, Hana sniffed in an effort to get rid of them. In front of her, Iseri smiled fondly before shaking his head. In return, Hana scowled back at him, _don't laugh! You're sad too!_

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Hana-chan," Iseri's smile grew before his hand was patting her head, "This is a very emotional day."

"You're being a smartass," Hana deadpanned, "Jerk."

"He's always a smartass," Kitano laughed as he hugged Hana even tighter, "Graduation is about to start, how about we break the secret now?"

"Dude," Hana's nerves kicked up at the thought. She didn't want to have this conversation… _it finalizes everything_ , "Am I supposed to be this nervous? I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack."

"I'm pretty worried too," that comment came, surprisingly, from Kitano, "I mean, what if we never see each other again? I don't want that to happen."

"We have our phones," Iseri countered, "Besides, our bond is too strong. We will have many encounters in the future."

"…" Kitano and Hana both shot him exasperated looks. Green eyes narrowed on him, "You sound like a monk or a priest. Are we the chosen ones?"

"We'll see," Iseri smirked gracefully, "Since you are the only female, why don't you go first, Hana-chan?"

"Don't do that!" Hana gaped at him, but Kitano's hug prevented her from punching Iseri, "You can't just throw me under the bus! Dick!"

"Hana," Kitano squeezed her harder, "Shut up."

"Gah," Hana spat out, but she did relax. Swallowing apprehensively, Hana looked to the sunny sky before replying, "… I'm going to Seirin."

"Really?" Kitano blinked, before laughing, "Of course you are! We should have known, you've been visiting Kiyoshi for months now."

"Oi, don't laugh," Hana rebuked as she shoved her elbow into his gut, but her face still broke into a smile, "What about you?"

"Uhm," Kitano paused, "Meijo Academy. One of the guys I play streetball with goes there and well… I figured it was a good choice," Kitano's shoulders shrugged before he continued, "'Sides, they've got a pretty good mathematics program."

"—Math?" Hana gaped, "Since when did you like _math?"_

"I don't," Kitano groaned at the thought, "But if I want to be an engineer, I've got to learn it."

"…" Hana squinted her eyes at him, "I can't see you as an engineer, but if you get rich, remember I'm your best friend." She transferred her eyes onto Iseri, "And where are you going?"

"Kaijo," Iseri answered without pause, "Although, I'm not planning to try out for their basketball team. They're a top tier school, my skills wouldn't be needed. I'm simply going for their accreditation's."

"…" Hana and Kitano stared at Iseri. Hana was the one to break the silence first, "How the hell did you get accepted?"

With a secretive smile, Iseri quirked an eyebrow, "I scored 6th in the school wide examinations."

"What?!" That was Kitano and he let go of Hana to march up to Iseri. His hands wrapped around Iseri's shoulders and Kitano began to shake him, "You could have tutored me! Why didn't you mention that?!"

"For this reason," Iseri was still smirking and Hana began to laugh as Kitano's protests got louder. With a finger, Iseri pushed Kitano back, "You needed to do your own work."

"I would have!" Kitano groaned, "Man, you suck."

Watching her two friends, Hana smirked at Kitano's defeated expression, "Where'd you score?"

"… 231th."

"Holy shit!" Hana bent over in startled laughter, "That's terrible!"

With a growl, Kitano turned on her, "Well, what'd you get!?"

"84th!" Hana was still laughing, "Oh my god, that's great!"

"Hana!" Kitano hissed before grabbing her and hoisting her over his shoulder. Her shouts had no effect on Kitano and he smirked at her defeat, "Stop laughing at me or I'll throw you in the fountain!"

"Kitano-kun…" Iseri quirked a brow as Hana began to punch his back and scream obscenities, "You are aware she's in a dress?"

When his words registered, Kitano froze in horror, "Shit. I always forget she's a girl…"

"You ass! What's that mean?!" With one hand holding down her dress, Hana grabbed a hold of his pants and yanked. Kitano's pained yelp sounded like music to her ears, "If you don't put me down in five seconds, your head is going to be forcibly removed!"

"You two-" Iseri began, but Kitano's scream stopped him. He tried again, "-We need to-" The two trouble makers continued, much to Iseri's consternation. His eyes narrowed on them both before he shouted, "Graduation is beginning!"

"Ah!" Hana jolted at the scream, "Shit! Run, Kitano!"

"But—" Hana pulled even harder on his pants and Kitano squealed, "I'm running!"

As he was left behind, Iseri's eye twitched, "…Those two."

Hana was pleased to say that graduation was a success. Nothing bad happened and Hana didn't fall on her face or anything of the sort. In the crowd, she saw Uoya sitting with her father and her grin stretched across her face, almost manically. As her eyes traveled over the rest of the crowd, they landed on the multi-colored assortment of miracles. Even though seeing them caused her to flinch in pain, Hana kept her eyes on them in observation. _I'll miss you guys too…_

None of them noticed her scrutiny or the way her hand came up to play with Kise's- her necklace.

As the graduation ceremony came to a close, Hana let a sad smile cover her face, "Bye everyone," at the same moment, Momoi looked around and pink eyes caught Hana's green. The two gave each other an excited grin and Hana's smile lost the sad edge as she waved to the other manager. Her voice was muffled by the cheering of the crowd, "Good luck out there."

When Momoi waved back to her, Aomine followed his childhood friend's gaze. His navy eyes locked onto Hana and the two stared at each other. Nothing was exchanged and the boy turned away from her a second later. When the moment was over, Hana's grin left her face completely. _No, screw him._ Straightening up, she forced another one to take its place; she wouldn't let anyone ruin her happiness today.

Looking away from Aomine, Hana turned back toward the audience. Making eye contact with her dad and Uoya, she threw a fist into the air.

 _I did it, bitches!_

* * *

 ** _Reviews: (Ahh, I love you guys.)_**

 ** _ADDBaby : Welcome back! Look at all the hugs! I'm sure she'd appreciate your hug as well! Thank you for such an awesome review!_**

 ** _jeyamendoza : I'm glad you liked it! I'm sorry about not making the guys go to Seirin with Hana... it was never in my plan to do so, but I had thought about it. Uoya will go when he gets out of middle school! Thank you for your review, I always appreciate them :)_**

 ** _Clare : Oh man, your review almost made me cry. That was so sweet... it really means a lot to me that you think that! Thank you so, so, so, so much. It was amazing. _**

**_Arrah : He won't be back for a while, but when he does come back you can bet it'll be with a vengeance. Thank you!_**

 ** _ArchimedesAckermann : Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed chapter 19 and 20! I was worried people wouldn't like how it turned out... Anyway, thank you for such a nice review! _**

**_FrizzleChicken : No, thank you for your awesome reviews! I'm sorry that Hana had to graduate... but they won't be gone forever. They'll still make plenty of appearances! Also, I'm glad you like Hanamiya's characterization, I was worried about that guy. Thank you, again!_**

 ** _Naliyu : Thank you!_**

 ** _Red raspberries : Ahh, thank you! I'm glad you liked the confrontation, it was one of my favorite things to write!_**

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 ** _JustCallMeWhatever : Thank you!_**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello, new chapter! Yay! I hope it's alright... I'm a little iffy on it. I'm trying to keep the canon plot in mind, but it's kind of boring. From now on, I'll probably be changing a few of the smaller things up (none of the games or life altering conversations or anything like that, but some of the small talk.) If you have a issue with that feel free to tell me! Enjoy the newest chapter. _Fair warning, I'm really sleepy right now, so I may have missed some editing mistakes._ (I also used Japanese terms for the first time... I hope I didn't butcher them.)**

 **Warnings: Bad language, violence, crappy editing**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke's characters or any canon events.**

* * *

Old Ghosts

"Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Yes! I've told you!" Hana grumped back, "Now please, do it."

"I don't know…"

"It'd be a lot easier if your hands would stop shaking."

"I'm nervous! I've never done this before!"

Closing her eyes, Hana let out a long sigh. When they re-opened they narrowed in on Uoya's reflection in the mirror. Her voice was deadpan when she responded, "All you have to do is cut in a straight line. It's easy."

"But it's your hair!" Uoya brought his hands up to his face, uncertain, "What if I cut it too short?"

"They're _bangs,_ " Hana rolled her eyes, "They'll grow out in like three weeks."

"Oh man," She watched Uoya gulp, "Okay, so above your eyebrows?"

One eyebrow quirking, Hana looked over her reflection, "Honestly, I'd stick with below. If you screw it up they're easier to hide that way."

"… That doesn't help my confidence at all."

"It's seriously easy. Stop worrying and cut them."

Uoya brought the orange scissors toward her forehead and Hana watched them carefully. _Maybe I should have drugged him… All that shaking can't be healthy._ Pulling out the hair in front of her face, Uoya came to stand beside her. Green eyes gave him a side glance before Hana's attention returned to the mirror. One snip and a long strand of black hair floated to the floor.

"I think I've got this," Uoya let a smile cross his face, "It's easy- oh."

The change of tone accompanied an extra snip and Hana watched another strand of black hair fall to the floor. It was significantly longer than the first, "Uoya. I said _below_ the eyebrow."

"It's okay!" Uoya continued to cut and Hana felt a tingle of dread, "I like it better this way, it brings out your eyes."

"… I did this to hide my eyes."

"Oh..." another snip, "Please, don't be too mad?"

Behind the layer of hair, Hana grimaced, "We'll see. If you mess it up, I'll just cut yours too."

Uoya let out a whimper as he cut another strand of hair, "Crap…"

Flash forward twenty minutes and Hana was pouting at her reflection. Despite her worry, Uoya hadn't messed up too bad. He managed to cut in a mostly straight line and they looked good enough. She'd thin them out later. But the thing she wasn't happy about was the length. At the ends, they leveled out with her eyebrows, but slowly arched higher toward the middle.

"I look like a doll," Hana's pout grew bigger and she grimaced at the effect. The stupid bangs made her eyes look _huge._ Like a deer. She didn't want to be a goddamn _deer._

"Ah haha," Uoya was resting against her wall and he brought a hand up to his hair nervously, "I think you look cute?"

"I was supposed to look threatening," She narrowed her eyes at the mirror, but the effect was severely diminished, "How am I supposed to scare people away now?"

"…" Her younger friend tilted his head, "Maybe that's a good thing? You might like high school more if you have friends."

"I have friends," Hana sniffed, "I don't need any more."

"… Friends that are your age and go to school with you," Uoya retorted, "Who falls into that category?"

Well, damn. Maybe she shouldn't have taught Uoya how to be sassy. It was biting her in the butt these days. Pulling at a strand of her newly cut bangs, Hana frowned, "Fine, you win. I still don't like it though."

Uoya was silent for a moment and when Hana glanced back at him, she realized he had on his thinking face. _Probably doesn't want me to screw up his hair in revenge._ His brown eyes narrowed at her ceiling before trailing back down to her. When he spoke, it was thoughtful, "I know you might not like being called cute, but think of the advantages."

"What advantages?" Hana blinked, "Are you suggesting I get a boyfriend?"

"Blegk!" Uoya pretended to gag and Hana rolled her eyes. Her friend continued a moment later, "No, but sort of? People are more open to attractive people. You can make friends."

"What?" She tugged her lip into her mouth; that didn't sound like an advantage. Seconds passed before a figurative lightbulb turned on above her head, "You genius!"

"Okay…" Uoya trailed off at Hana's shit-eating grin, _at least she isn't mad anymore_ , "I'm glad you're happy, but I'm not sure I like that look?"

"I'm tiny," Hana shoved her face closer to the mirror and tugged at her cheek, "I've got the bangs. I can fake the attitude. Oh, this will be great!"

"I feel like we have two different ideas—"

"I look adorable!" Hana spun back around and darted toward Uoya. Her hands wrapped around his waist in a crushing hug, "No one suspects the adorable one! Do you know how much shit I can get away with?! This is great!"

"That's not-" Hana squeezed him harder and Uoya let out a pained moan, "I've been made into an unwilling accomplice."

Ignoring him, she continued to visualize her master plan, "I'll need a ribbon… A _big_ one. Do you know how to tie a bow? 'Cause I'm going to need help; I can only do knots."

"Hana-chan," Uoya let out a forlorn sigh, "This is a terrible idea-"

In return, Hana removed her arms from around his waist and grabbed a hold of his hand, "The first day is tomorrow! Come on! I bet they sell ribbons somewhere!"

"Hana-"

"And we can get Nūdoru one too!" Hana tugged him out the bathroom door and rushed down the steps, "He had a red one, but he chewed it up—Do you think they make industrial ribbons?"

"I-"

"This is your best idea ever," Hana continued to babble as she waved goodbye to her dad, "Like the _best._ I'll put you in my obituary, I swear it. _"_

With a groan, Uoya gave up his struggle. _I've created a monster… I hope the world can forgive me._

* * *

She'd never admit it to anyone, but Hana was nervous about her first day. She hadn't slept well the night before and now her eyes reflected her sorry state. As she tied her newly purchased white ribbon around her ponytail, Hana scowled at the dark circles. _Stupid human genetics,_ Hana spat her mouthwash into the sink, _maybe I shouldn't have thrown all my makeup out…_

That decision had been done in a fit of anger. She'd watched a video on how to apply it the correct way in anticipation of her master plan, but she _couldn't do it._ No matter how she did it, she always came out looking like a clown. Seriously, why would someone apply artificial blush? She had a hard enough time with her natural one. Not to mention the mascara! _Glorified torture machine._ After poking her eye with the wand, she'd cried black tears for five minutes.

The lip gloss was easy though. She could do that, even if her hair tended to stick to her lips.

Anyway, it was six o'clock in the morning and Hana was sipping on her second cup of coffee while she changed into her new uniform. It was better than her one at Teiko, but she still didn't like the skirt. Guys got to wear pants, why couldn't she? _Oh well,_ she sucked it up as she pulled her tennis shoes on, _it completes the innocent look._

Making her way downstairs, Hana walked over to the fridge in search of some of her father's leftover bagels. Nūdoru had followed her and was sitting by the back door, watching her pitifully. Hana rolled her eyes before grabbing his food first. Emptying the wet mush onto a plate, she propped the door open with her hip and Nūdoru rushed outside as Hana left the plate behind her. Now, she could eat her bagel in peace.

Three bagels later, Hana let her dog back inside before pouring another cup of coffee into her container. A glance at the clock showed that she still had an hour and thirty minutes before she had to be in class. What to do? Brows furrowed as she glanced away from the clock back to the two bagels still laid out on the counter. _Would Kiyoshi be awake?_ That would ease some of her nerves…

It was a ten-minute bus ride to the hospital, then fifteen more to the school. Including walking time, that left her enough time for thirty-minute visit. _Why the hell not,_ she shrugged before grabbing her backpack off the couch, _if he's not awake then I'll just leave the bagels with the nurse._

Turns out Kiyoshi was awake. Hana didn't know the boy well enough to figure out if this was normal or not, but she'd have to guess so. Besides, Kiyoshi seemed like an early riser. Apparently his grandfather was too, because he was in the room when she arrived. As Hana sat in her chair, she watched the elderly man out of the corner of her eye. _They look so alike… It's uncanny._

If Kiyoshi had gray hair, the two could be twins. They looked to be around the same height, but Hana couldn't tell with Kiyoshi reclining in the bed and the hunched back of his grandfather. They shared the same smile too. It was _weird._ Not to mention, Hana had never really liked old people. Kiyoshi's grandfather was turning out to be okay, but she couldn't tell for certain.

"Imamura?" Kiyoshi interrupted her observation and Hana turned back to him, "Did you change your hair?"

"…" Hana blinked, "You just now noticed?"

Kiyoshi didn't answer her question, just tilted his head in thought, "It looks nice."

"Now, Teppei," Kiyoshi's grandfather let out a rough chuckle, "That's not how you compliment a lady," his grandfather turned toward Hana, "Imamura-san, was it? You look quite beautiful."

 _What._ Hana's mind came to a standstill and she gaped at the older man. The first person to call her beautiful and he was at least in his sixties. Her mouth hung open, but Hana forced it shut to reply, "Thank you, Kiyoshi-san?"

"No need to be so formal," he let out another coughing laugh, "You can just call me ojiisan; Teppei's talked about you a bit."

It was official. Hana had gone to the Twilight Zone. Shooting Kiyoshi a startled look, Hana turned back to his grandfather, "Alright… ojiisan? I hope he's said nice things?"

"Of course," his grandfather gave her a grin, "Mentioned you were a spit-fire, but I haven't seen it yet."

"Sofu," Kiyoshi let out a tired chuckle that sounded similar to his grandfathers, "I'm sure Imamura's just trying to be polite."

At the end of his sentence, Kiyoshi smiled in her direction. Hana still didn't know how to take this recent turn of events and green eyes widened dramatically. Her voice came out uncertain, "Yeah, what he said."

"There it is," Kiyoshi's grandfather chortled before looking down at the watch on his wrist, "Lots of fire in you, I can feel it. Now I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems you're running late, little lady."

"Huh?" Her mouth continued to gape before Hana pulled out her phone. On the screen the time reflected that she'd stayed fifteen minutes past her deadline, "Shit!" As soon as the words left her mouth, a hand came to cover it, "Awh, hell- ahgk- sorry! I apologize, ojjisan."

Kiyoshi's grandfather raised his eyebrows, but his smile hadn't left, "I've heard worse before."

"You've said worse," Kiyoshi laughed after his grandfather finished. Meanwhile, Hana was zipping her bag shut and Kiyoshi transferred his gaze onto her, "Hey, Imamura? Have you thought about what I said last time?"

"About joining the basketball team?" Hana pulled her bag up to her shoulder, "A bit. I'm still not sure it's a good idea…"

"Think about it," Kiyoshi didn't pressure her, which Hana enjoyed. His eyes followed her to the door before he spoke again, "Hope to see you soon."

"You will," Hana yanked the door open and shot the two men a smile, "Bye Kiyoshi, bye ojiisan!"

"See you, little lady!" Kiyoshi's grandfather replied just as the door shut behind her. For a moment, Hana just stood in the hallway. With a shake of her head, she marched down the hall. Kiyoshi's grandfather was interesting, she'd give him that. She transferred her walk into a jog as the time caught up to her.

Sprinting out the front entrance, her thoughts took an exasperated edge when she remembered the elderly man's compliment. The blush that overtook her cheeks made her scowl, _I still don't trust old people. They're too unpredictable._

* * *

"Join the basketball club, he said," Hana ducked under a person's arms, "You'll enjoy it, he said."

She might have enjoyed it if he told her _where it was!_ Because of her near Olympic speed of running, Hana had made up for her delay and arrived at school when she'd planned. What she hadn't planned for though, was the mass of people outside of the school. It was like New York. She'd been once with her mother and this was giving her flashbacks. _So many people. So many freaking tall people!_

She hadn't minded the population at Teiko since she was normally surrounded by her friends. They served as a buffer between herself and the other people. But here, she had no one. Well, she had Kiyoshi's teammates, but they didn't seem to be the type to appreciate her clinging. Koganei might, but he wasn't much taller than her. It'd be pointless.

Back to the problem at hand, Hana couldn't see over half the people. She didn't know what this school put in their food, but it had to be growth hormones. Hana scowled at everyone around her as she ducked under another pair of arms. She was surrounded. Not to mention, all the screaming about different clubs was getting on her nerves.

"Where the hell could they be?" She stumbled away from an incoming student. Green eyes glared after his back, "I need a tall person."

Deciding to just stand there, Hana looked for a person gifted with height. If she saw one, she was planning to stealthily follow behind them. They'd clear the path for her and she wouldn't have to keep fighting through the masses. _Nope, not tall enough._ She looked over to the left side, _you're kind of tall… but you're going the wrong way! Turn around, idiot!_

When she turned to the right, her eyes landed on a head of red hair. _Now, he's perfect._ The boy was walking toward her and Hana merged into the crowd until he passed. People were moving out of his way automatically and as he walked by her, Hana darted behind him. No one shot her a second look and she praised her ingenuity. _He can't even see me, he'll never know._

She examined the mammoth in front of her. His shoulders were held high and his head was rotating around the grounds, searching for something. Hana didn't know what, but hell, she didn't care either. As long as he didn't veer off course.

"If you join the basketball club, you'll be cute too!"

The voice of Izuki echoed in her ears and Hana stood on her tippy toes to try and see where it came from. Shoulders and heads still blocked her view and she scowled. _Stupid people. Can't you just crawl?_ Right as she thought that, the guy in front of her turned toward the voice. His steps increased in speed and Hana had to rush after him.

 _Tall people and their damn long legs,_ Hana glared at the mystery boy's back. Peering around his massive arm, Hana saw Koganei, Izuki, and Mitobe. The boy in front of her saw them two and walked toward them. His body mass hovered over all three boys and Hana had to jump backward at his sudden stop. She didn't want to ram into him.

"Basketball?" Her shield spoke suddenly and all eyes were on him. As she looked around his arm, Hana caught eyes with Izuki. Izuki's eyes widened at the sight of her and Hana brought a finger up to her mouth in the universal sign of, _shut up!_ When he registered the situation, Izuki shot her a droll look and Hana stuck her tongue out in retribution. _He's just jealous he didn't think of it._

"Yes-" Koganei's reply was cut off as the boy in front of her lifted him up by his shirt collar. His resulting sound of surprise was lost in the chatter of surrounding students. As she watched, Hana gawked, _damn man. You are one strong dude._ Unknowing of the shock around him, the red head began to walk forward with Koganei in his arms.

Figuring they were heading toward the basketball section, Hana continued to follow her shield. Izuki walked beside the red head and gave Koganei a sympathy filled glance. The smart one of the group, Mitobe, came to stand beside Hana and walked in the path the larger boy created. Hana gave the boy a silent wave which he responded to in kind.

The walk to the basketball club's stand came quickly. Hana assumed it had something to do with the frightening picture the redhead made. He wasn't even breaking a sweat! Koganei had to weigh something, but the redhead didn't seem to care. Arriving at the stand, mister scary teenager released Koganei to address Riko.

While coach and player talked, Hyuuga caught sight of her and raised incredulous eyebrows. In return, Hana repeated the same gesture she had done with Izuki. The conversation between the redhead and Riko was lost to her as Hyuuga twitched at her disrespect. Shooting the captain a guilty grimace, Hana ducked away from her shield and under the table.

The chair beside her was suddenly pulled out and Hana darted away from the large feet about to smash her fingers. Shooting a snarl up at the redhead, she curled further into a ball. Izuki and Mitobe were both watching her in confusion, but Hana didn't care to respond. Dodging a kick from the passive aggressive captain, her face formed a pout. _Okay, I get it._ Another kick came and Hana's pout turned into a grimace as she grabbed Hyuuga's foot, _stop kicking at me!_

"I don't care," she recognized the voice as belonging to the scary redhead, "I'm going after I leave my name."

In the meantime, Hyuuga was trying to get his foot back, but Hana held firm. She wasn't letting go anytime soon. He'd just kick her again and boy, did his kicks freaking hurt. She'd been subjected to one at the hospital when he'd gotten tired of her foul mouth. After that instance, Hana tried to avoid coming when Hyuuga did.

Riko's voice distracted her, "You don't have a reason for joining?"

"Not really," the redhead replied, "Basketballs the same wherever you go in Japan."

"Dumb ass," Hana spoke without thinking, "That's stupid reasoning-" Hyuuga's other foot connected with her knee and Hana yelped.

"What?" The redhead's voice sounded like a growl and Hana flinched. _Oh man, I done mucked up._

"Nothing! Nothing!" Hana heard Riko try to assure the boy and her guilt grew. Still though, that was stupid. Basketball's not the same wherever you went… Hana had been to plenty of American basketball games when she was younger. _There's tons of differences!_

From her hiding place under the table, Hana watched the redhead shove his chair out and stand. She waited a few more seconds before popping out from her hiding place and taking his chair. Beside her, Koganei collapsed unto the table with terrified mumbles.

"Hey," Riko and Hyuuga shot her equal unimpressed looks, "Okay, don't look at me like that! He sounds like a jerk anyway."

"That's the best candidate we've had today, Imamura-chan," Riko chastised as she looked down at his paper, "An American basketball player, we might actually have a chance this year!"

Beside her, the captain raised an eyebrow, "What are you implying, coach?" Then his glasses turned toward Hana with a flash, "And you! What was that?!"

"Uhm…" Hana stalled before changing the subject with a smile, "Can I fill out a form, Hyuuga-senpai?"

The bespeckled captain practically threw a form at her before turning down toward the redhead's paper, "Kagami Taiga. He came from a middle school in America."

"That's not that great-" Hana mumbled as she scribbled out her form, "It just means he had a different training style."

Her fingers filed through the sections automatically. Name: Imamura Hana, School: Teiko Junior High, Goals: … Destroy everyone. She finished writing with a deadly smirk. _Perfect. Not sure Kiyoshi would approve, but hell, I followed his advice!_

Next, her eyes looked for a section about favored positions. Finding none, she quirked an eyebrow before writing MANAGER at the top of the page. She drew a couple arrows toward it, indicating the importance.

When she glanced back up, Koganei was looking at a sheet of paper, "Hey, you missed one."

"Huh?" Riko muttered before reading through the page, "Kuroko Tetsuya?" Hana's blood ran cold and she gaped up at the caramel headed coach. _You've got to be kidding me._ Her hand was about to take her registration paper back, but Hyuuga had already retrieved it.

"Oi, Hyuuga-senpai?" Hana called over at the captain, "Can I have my paper back? I'm resigning."

"Too late, brat." His response made Hana hiss and she was _seconds_ away from jumping over that table and getting it herself. In return, Hyuuga just gave her a smile. A smile Hana had learned meant immediate death, so with a pout, she backed off.

Riko's gasp cut everyone off, "Teiko basketball club?!"

 _God dammit._ With a groan, Hana buried her head into her arms. Around her everyone began to chatter, but all she could think about was blue eyes. _Stupid blue eyes and blue hair… fate hates me._ Her groans got louder and Hana sunk further into her unease. _Did he see me? I freaking hope not._

By the time she stopped groaning, Hana realized Riko was talking to her, "Huh?"

"I asked if you knew him," Riko tilted her head as she watched the other girl let out another loud moan, "Do you, Imamura-chan?"

Hana peeked an eye out to reply, "Sort of."

"That seems to be a common answer with you," Izuki muttered from the background, "Common conversation? Common comments!"

"Izuki-senpai," Hana mumbled into her arms, "I'm so close to punching you. I'm just giving you a fair warning."

This time, Hyuuga spoke, "So, do you know him?"

"Eh," Hana's shoulders shrugged awkwardly from her crunched over position, "We were friends, but it's over now."

None of the upperclassmen spoke for a moment and Hana was left to relish in her misery. _If Kuroko's here, who else? Surely the rest of them would have followed him… Or would they? I can't see Akashi going to a school like this. Did Kuroko break off from them? What the hell is going on?_

As Hana wallowed, Izuki brought out a notebook and began to jot down something, "The ship of friendship has sailed?"

Riko suddenly went into a fit, but Hana didn't care. All she heard was _Generation of Miracles,_ before her chair was shoved out and she was stalking away. Behind her, she heard Riko call out, but Hana just waved a hand. She'd find them all later.

"I'm going to go find Mr. Shield," Hana muttered under her breath as she dove into the crowd, "For security purposes."

* * *

Mr. Shield, otherwise known as one Kagami Taiga, was easy to find. Turns out he was in the same class as Hana, which was wonderful. All she had to do now was stick to him like glue. It wasn't a hard plan. She could be quiet and unnoticeable. In fact, he hadn't noticed her sitting beside him, too interested in glaring at the chalkboard at the head of the classroom.

They were in English class together and well, for a boy from America, he wasn't so hot at this. The teacher had started off with a bang by firing questions at unsuspecting students. When the teacher yelled out his name, Kagami continued to stare at the chalk board with a frown. Beside him, Hana raised an eyebrow as the teacher grew incensed. Kagami _still_ didn't notice.

Having enough of his stupidity, Hana kicked her leg across the aisle into his own. The fearsome redhead jolted and looked around. Noticing the boy's attention, the teacher fired another question at him. He answered correctly, _thank god_ , and the teacher moved on to terrify another student.

Red eyes turned to meet her own, "Did you just kick me?"

"I did," Hana didn't pause in her notetaking, "You're welcome."

"You're welcome?!" Kagami's mouth gaped open before he leaned toward her, "Why the hell did you do that?"

"You weren't paying attention," Her lips curled into a hidden smirk as she stared down at her paper. Finally looking up, she gave Kagami an innocent pout, "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"What? No!" apparently, the redhead could blush. Kagami looked away from her before offering his last retort, "Just don't do it again."

Hana rolled her eyes before muttering, "Sir, yes sir."

English was their last class for the day. When the final bell went off, Hana gathered her things while watching Kagami out of the corner of her eyes. Unbeknownst to the boy, Hana had decided the redhead would become her new bodyguard. She missed her overprotective idiots, _especially if the miracles are here…_ As Kagami slung his bag over his shoulder, Hana darted after him.

Copying her move from this morning, Hana followed behind him. As the masses cleared out, she decided to do something bold. Maybe even a little… _mischievous._ Picking up her pace, Hana appeared beside him, "Hey, Kagami- _kun_."

The redhead looked at her and then back forward. Moments passed before he did a double take, "-You?!"

"Me," Hana gave him her happiest smile, "Are you going to the basketball club?"

"Yeah," the redhead had turned back into his grumpy self from earlier. They continued to walk together toward the gym when Kagami finally turned back to her, "What are you doing?"

"Following you," Hana admitted unashamed, "I'm going to the basketball club too."

"…" Narrowed red eyes peered at her, "Really?"

"Yup!" Hana gave him a smirk before darting ahead a bit. She turned on her heel and began to walk backward, "Speaking of that, I had a deal to make with you."

"A deal?"

"Mhmm," Hana slowed her pace so she could walk beside him, "You see, I'm concerned about a few things. I'd like to make a deal with you regrading said things."

"The hell?" He shot her an incredulous look and Hana could tell he was about to tell her to screw off, "Who are you-"

"Imamura Hana," She interrupted him, "But, I'm serious. I'll pay you."

"… You'll pay me?" His weird, _quadruple,_ eyebrows rose, "In what?"

"I don't know," Hana shrugged her shoulders as she turned back around to walk correctly, "Money, food, homework? What do you want?"

"Are you-" Kagami looked shocked and Hana brought a hand up to hide her laugh. He turned toward her in a fury, "What are you trying to get?!"

"…" Hana thought over her answer before deciding to be truthful, "A body guard."

"You're insane," Kagami walked ahead. His shoulders were stiff and Hana let out a loud groan as she rushed after him. Her hand latched onto his wrist and tugged it firmly. He didn't move, but he did shoot her a glare, "What?"

"I'm serious," Hana fought to keep her eye roll under control, "There's a guy here I used to go to school with, but he's not the problem. I'm worried that his crazy friend followed him."

"…" The damsel in distress card worked and Kagami stopped walking to reply to her, "What'd you do to piss the guy off?"

"Disrespected him," this time, Hana let her eyes roll, "Insulted the pride of the Generation of Miracles. Oh, the horror."

That seemed to peek the redhead's interest and Kagami furrowed his brows, "Generation of what?"

"Generation of Miracles," Hana corrected him while latching onto his wrist again, "You'll hear all about them. Do you know where the gym is?"

"…" With his brows still furrowed, Kagami yanked his arm out of her grip before replying, "I have a map."

"The hell?" Hana gaped at him as they walked forward, "Where'd you get a map?!"

Kagami gifted her with a look that clearly said, _you're an idiot,_ "The admissions office."

"Screw that," Hana grabbed the map out of Kagami's hands, "Where the hell are we? The language hall?"

"Hey! You can't—" Kagami's hands tried to grab the map out of her own, but Hana avoided his attempts. He may be large, but he wasn't fast enough to catch her. Her green eyes scanned over the tiny rooms as she ducked away from his grabby fingers. Finding the gym at the opposite end of the school, Hana ducked down the next hallway.

Kagami followed with a growl, "You! Give that back!"

"We're going to the same place," Hana waved a hand over her shoulder and sped up, "Just follow me. 'Sides, I'll give it back if you agree to the deal!"

He followed. Very angrily, Hana would like to add. Yet, the stubborn redhead didn't accept her terms.

 _I'll get him to agree, sooner or later._

* * *

They arrived to the gym a little bit later. Hana noticed the second years, and the one she hadn't been introduced to yet. Apparently, every time she'd arrived at the hospital, Tsuchida had left right before she arrived. It was odd, but Hana wouldn't question it. As she eyed the smiling second year, her eyes traveled over the assembled first years. _Nothing impressive…_ In the background, she saw a flash of blue and her heart stuttered, _Kuroko?_

Watching the area warily, Hana finally caught sight of her old friend. He was standing off to the side, observing the team without notice. When he felt her gaze, Kuroko's blue eyes turned to meet her own. They stared at each other intently. Kuroko's face was deceptively blank, but Hana knew her mouth was pressed into a firm line.

She turned away. No one seemed to notice the ghostly player and Hana took it to her advantage. Her eyes traveled over to Riko, who was looking at a clipboard. The first-year players were lined up in front of the coach and Hana quirked an eyebrow as they whispered together. Only, their whispers weren't quite whisper level. A moment passed before Hyuuga punched them both and Hana winced in sympathy. _I know that hurts._

Instead of addressing the first years, Riko turned to her, "Imamura-chan! You came!"

"Yup," Hana drawled and she saw Kagami turn to her in contemplation, "Hyuuga-senpai wouldn't give me my form back. Figured I could withdraw in person-"

"I said it was too late," The captain crossed his arms over his chest. Hana scowled back at him, _dominant male syndrome._

"Okay," Hana directed her words to the thorny captain, "Do you want me to beg or something? I will."

"No," that was Riko and the coach gave her a smile, "I'm happy you came! Teppei told me you might, so I held the position open."

Oh, great. The guilt card. Hana's mouth hung open for a second before she shut it with a snap, "Fine, fine. Stupid tattle tale…"

The coach gave her a sweet smile, but Hana didn't believe it for a second. _Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky._ Turning away from Hana, Riko addressed the assembled boys, "Everyone! Shirts off!"

The resulting gawk could have been humorous, if only Hana didn't feel Kuroko's stare on her back. She refused to look. Instead, she focused her eyes on the boys taking their clothes off. She wouldn't judge Riko's training method, _especially if they gave this kind of result._ Trailing her eyes over the boys, Hana finally landed on Kagami. Her eyebrow quirked as she looked at his chest.

 _Now, that. That, I can appreciate…_ Riko apparently felt the same. Her caramel eyes hadn't left Kagami's form for a while and Hana let out a soft chuckle at the drool dripping down her lip. Hyuuga said something that broke the coach out of her gaze, but Hana was still eyeing Kagami musingly. That was _a lot_ of muscle for a first-year.

In the background, she heard Riko yell out for Kuroko. At the familiar name, Hana shut her eyes. She didn't want to see him up close, not yet anyway. It had been ages since they'd talked to one another and a personal reencounter would be terribly awkward. When she opened them, Hana didn't see Kuroko. One second passed, then another before the blue haired boy appeared in front of the coach. The scream Riko let out could have broken glass.

For a moment, Hana felt a tinge of pleasure. _See, I'm not the only one you scare all the time._ It trailed off as she heard Kuroko speak. His voice brought back bitter memories and Hana looked away again. Her green eyes landed on Kagami and she watched the redhead stare down Kuroko. It was an intense stare, like a predator sizing up potential prey. In fact, _did he just sniff the air? The hell?_

Kuroko began to talk with some of the second years, but Hana zoned them out until she heard Riko speak. "A-alright," the coach's voice was shaky, "Take off your shirt, please."

Hana didn't want to look. She really didn't. But the opportunity was too much to pass up. She'd never seen any of the boys without their shirts and well… you only live once, right? Green eyes landed on an expanse of pale chest and Hana trailed her eyes over Kuroko's body. She immediately looked away, _I feel like a pervert._

Trying to break the newly developed tension, Hana raised a hand and when Riko looked at her, she spoke, "Want me to take mine off, too?"

"No!" That answer came, surprisingly, from all the second years. For a second, Hana was insulted. Her eyes narrowed in on them and Koganei fidgeted.

"I wouldn't mind!" The cat boy instantly backpedaled at Riko's glare, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

"No time for jokes!" Hyuuga interrupted the incoming beat down, "Everyone get ready for practice!"

Taking that as her cue to ask Riko about her duties, Hana made her way to the coach. She could still feel Kuroko's eyes on her and when she glanced at him, the blue haired boy offered her a nod. Instinctively, Hana nodded back. She didn't speak and neither did he. Green eyes moved away as Hana forced her feet to walk toward the coach.

"Oi, Riko?" Hana interrupted her notetaking and the coach looked up at her, "Anything you need me to do? I don't want to sit around all practice."

"Oh!" The coach's caramel eyes lit up before she retrieved a secondary clipboard and handed it to Hana, "Could you help record the statistics of the second-years? I'm going to focus in on the new ones, but I want to see if the other guys have improved."

"Gotcha," Hana nodded as she retrieved the clipboard, "I'll go over and sit by that old guy. What's his name again?"

"Takeda-sensei," Riko gave her a deadpan look, "Weren't you listening?"

"Nope," Hana's tongue clicked in her mouth and she gave the coach a saccharine covered smile, "Sorry, Riko!"

The coach's eyes narrowed and Hana skillfully made her retreat. She'd learned that just like Hyuuga, Riko had a violent streak. A terribly violent streak that Hana did not want to encounter _again._ Darting away, she offered the coach a cheeky wave.

When she came up beside him, Takeda-sensei gave her a watery smile. Begrudgingly, Hana returned it. _I still don't trust old people._ Her back landed against the wall and she sunk down to watch the second years. Marking off checkboxes beside each player's name, Hana forced her eyes to not seek out Kuroko. She was going to have a good year, dammit.

 _The past won't stop me._

* * *

"Kagami-san!" Hana screeched after the redhead's back, "Slow the hell down!"

He didn't slow down. His long strides continued, further taking him away from her reach. They'd left practice a while ago and Hana had resorted to following him down the street. It was creepy, it was stalker-ish, but dammit, she wanted him to accept her deal. Despite the fact she hadn't seen Akashi, Hana wasn't going to take any chances.

"Okay," Her breath came out in a wheeze, "Can you just _stop?!"_

Again, she was ignored. Frankly, Hana didn't like to be ignored. It could be tolerated for a few exceptions, but this guy didn't get the benefit of the doubt. Sure, he was scary looking, but he wasn't all that. He didn't intimidate her. Hana could lie to him. _I think…_

Anyway, back to the grumpy redhead. He had left practice as soon as he could, slamming the door behind him. Hana got the impression he wasn't happy with Seirin's skill. She still remembered his subtle jab earlier about how weak Japanese basketball was. Speeding up, she power walked down the sidewalk.

"I'm giving you until three to stop," Hana rose her voice. She was trying to be intimidating, but judging from his lack of response, it wasn't working. With a deep breath, she began, "One… Two…"

Kagami still didn't look back and Hana scowled. _Screw this. I will not be defeated by a stubborn, arrogant, mule!_

"Three!" Her voice called out right before she sprinted toward him. Saying to hell with all the consequences, Hana darted past him while simultaneously grabbing his bag off his shoulder. She didn't stop running even as she heard Kagami's shout. Her feet only moved faster.

 _Okay, so big boy can run fast,_ Hana panted out a sharp breath as she turned a corner, _who would have known?_ Darting down a dark alley way, Hana hopped over a spilt garbage can. She could hear Kagami huffing in the distance and by god, he was gaining on her. _Oh man, he is going to be so pissed._ Grabbing onto the brick at the end of the wall, Hana hurtled herself to the side.

"Imamura!" Yep, that was one pissed off Kagami, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Don't ignore me!" Hana cried over her shoulder as she jumped off the concrete ledge of the walkway. Landing on the one below, she forced her feet to keep moving. She heard the thump of Kagami a moment later and Hana was stuck with the realization she had nowhere to go, "Shit, shit, shit."

Up ahead, she spotted a dimly lit basketball court and, figuring it was her only chance of safety, sprinted toward it. She was just pushing open the chain link gate when a hand grabbed onto the bag on her shoulder. Losing her balance for a second, Hana spun around away from Kagami's grip. Falling to her knees, she pushed herself up and sprinted toward the hoop.

Wrapping her arms around it for dear life, Hana panted, "You're like 200 pounds… How do you run so fast?"

"Man," even Kagami was breathing hard as he stared her down, "What the hell was that?"

"You weren't listening to me!"

"So what!"

"It was rude!"

"That doesn't give you an excuse to steal my stuff!"

"Yes, it does!"

"What the hell," Kagami's voice transferred into English and Hana blinked, " _Are all the woman here crazy?"_

" _That's sexist,"_ Hana responded in English as she released her grip on the hoop. Her hand's held Kagami's bag in front of her defensively, " _Do you prefer to talk in English?"_

" _What?"_ Kagami's breathing had calmed down and he was gaping at her, " _Are you American?"_

" _Sort of?"_ Hana shrugged, " _Okay… are you calm yet?"_

" _I'll calm down when you give me my bag back!"_

"So, no. Not calm," Hana returned to Japanese. Her eyes trailed over Kagami contemplatively, "I'll give you your bag back if you agree to my deal. It's not even a bad deal! You're getting paid!"

"No," Kagami's answer was quick and to the point.

"What would it take for you to agree?!" Hana was close to tearing her hair out, "It's not even that big of an issue!"

Hana watched as Kagami's eyes trailed up to the net above her head. As he stared, a dark smile broke out across his face, "If you can get six points, I'll do it."

"So…" Hana blinked, "Three shots?"

"Three shots," Kagami didn't nod or anything, he just watched her with his narrowed eyes, "I'll guard you."

"…From anywhere?" Hana had to clarify. This wasn't exactly what she had planned… but things didn't seem to like going to plan anymore.

"If you can," He didn't look concerned and Hana bristled. _Anywhere he said… I can work with that._ The small smirk on her face went unnoticed by the irritable player and Hana pulled her bag to the front of her chest. Ignoring Kagami's objection, Hana unzipped it and retrieved the basketball. _So that's why it was so lumpy!_

Dribbling the ball in front of her, Hana gave Kagami a grin, "You swear?"

The tall player let out a huff, but Hana didn't look away. With an angry shake of the head, he agreed, "You have my word."

Instead of going for the goal beside them, Hana ran right past Kagami. She heard him gawk, but he was too late to stop her. Coming to stand at the shooting line, Hana hopped up and shot the ball straight through the net with a _woosh_. It dribbled on the floor a bit and she jerked forward to grab it. Behind her, she heard Kagami cursing, but she didn't care.

"Two points!" She turned around and gave him a sneaky grin, "Only four more!"

"That didn't count!" The boy marched up to her and tried to yank the ball back. Hana narrowly avoided him and stuck her tongue out, mocking him.

"You didn't say which hoop!"

"I didn't think you were an idiot!" The boy snarled back.

Deciding not to take offense, Hana continued to rile him up, "Technically, you're the idiot. Since you didn't clarify."

"Ugh!" Kagami finally grabbed the ball out of her hands. His eyes narrowed on her with a grimace and he stepped back a few feet. He went into shooting position and tried to put the ball into the net. Instead, it bounced on the rim before rolling away. Hana began to snicker, but a quick hand came up to cover it. She was about to retrieve it when it suddenly stopped bouncing.

"Hello," Hana froze at the familiar voice, "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Great," Kagami huffed as he watched Kuroko hold the ball, "More of you."

Instead of responding, Kuroko moved his gaze over to Hana. When he spoke, his voice cut across the silence smoothly, "Imamura-san."

"Kuroko," Hana echoed. The change in title stung, but she shouldn't be surprised. The streetlight made his face angular and Hana was shocked at the simple change. It made him look so much older, more intense. Getting her wits about her, she nodded toward him, "Surprised to see you here."

"You as well," Kuroko blinked as he handled the ball, "It's been a while."

"…" Hana couldn't stop the guilt that crept up her spine, "Yeah, it has."

Kagami's red eyes travelled from Kuroko back to her, "You two know each other?"

"We do," Kuroko spoke in her stead, "We were friends back in middle school."

"Yeah," Hana echoed, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach, "Friends."

"Whatever," Kagami scoffed in the tense atmosphere. His red eyes went back to Kuroko and his weird eyebrows furrowed, "What are you doing here?"

"I'd been hoping to find you, Kagami-kun," Kuroko's face was the familiar blank mask and Hana watched him silently, "I hadn't expected you to be busy."

"We aren't," Hana and Kagami spoke in sync. The two shot each other looks; Kagami's irritated and Hana's exasperated. Ignoring him for now, Hana looked away with an eyeroll. She heard Kagami growl in the distance, but she didn't bother to respond now that Kuroko was here.

Kuroko's blue eyes traveled between the two, "I was wanting to challenge Kagami-kun to a game, if you don't mind, Imamura-san."

"No," Her voice felt faint and Hana cursed herself. She shouldn't be acting this way around him, she'd moved on for god's sake. Forcing her voice to sound steady, she continued, "I'll just go sit on the side."

"Don't think you're going to get your way," Kagami called after her back. In a normal mood, Hana would have responded with something cheeky, but she couldn't get her mouth to work with Kuroko around. Her tongue had dried up and laid unmovable in her jaw. Instead of speaking, she just raised a hand in acknowledgement.

As she made her way to the bench, Hana watched the two boys battle for dominance. They both ripped their shirts off… which frankly, Hana thought it was a bit too theatrical. She faintly heard Kagami mention something about _smelling_ Kuroko and the image of him sniffing earlier came to mind. So, he was smelling him… figures. Of course, basketball players could never be normal.

As he stared the smaller boy down, Kagami twirled the ball on his finger before passing it to Kuroko. The blue haired boy caught it easily and came to stand in front of the hoop, ready to shoot. The ball left his hands…

…before it bounced away into the bushes.

That was when Kagami snapped. Kuroko went to retrieve the ball and the redhead snatched it out of his hands when it was offered back. They exchanged a verbal battle before Kagami grabbed the front of Kuroko's shirt collar and lifted him into the air. In reflex, Hana stood up.

"Hey!" her yell trailed off as neither boy turned to look at her. Kagami stared down at Kuroko with a snarl before barking something out about arrogance. In return, Kuroko didn't move. His blue eyes just peered into Kagami and Hana would bet money he was reading his soul. Or his mind… _whatever his freaky ghost powers do._

Setting Kuroko down roughly, Kagami stalked toward his shirt. His parting words were filled with derision, "You should just give up basketball. No matter what you say, raw talent is a fact of life. You have no talent for basketball."

Hana felt her fists clench into themselves. Those words sounded too similar to the words she'd heard in the past. A mental image of Aomine came to rest of Kagami's face and Hana looked away toward Kuroko. At first glance, Kuroko appeared calm. It was when he spoke, that Hana could hear his underlying tension.

"I don't accept that," Kuroko walked up to stand behind Kagami and Hana watched him. His blue eyes were determined, "I love basketball and I don't share your opinion."

 _Well, that's the first I've heard about that…_ Hana trailed off as they continued to talk. Her mind was fixated on the last match she'd seen, when Kuroko had just turned away from the massacre. She was quick to judge, she knew that. But his silence on the matter had rang in her heart for the following days. She knew he didn't _like_ the miracles play style… but she had never heard this type of firmness in his voice as he discredited it.

"I'm a shadow," Kuroko's statement interrupted her thoughts. When she looked back up, Kagami was watching him over his shoulder before lifting his bag higher. The redhead walked off without a second glance. In the back of her mind, Hana remembered he skipped out on their deal, but her emotions were too twisted to care.

The two past friends were left alone on the court. Hana eyed the large shadow behind Kuroko's back before offering a quip, "That was poetic."

"I hadn't meant for it to be," Kuroko turned toward her hunched form, "I apologize for interrupting your meeting."

"It's fine," Hana still didn't make eye contact with the boy, "It wasn't going anywhere. You probably got me out of trouble, in fact."

"Still," His head bowed toward her softly, "My apologies."

Offering a nod back, Hana bent forward and retrieved her backpack off the ground. When she straightened up, she hopped off the bench with a huff. Her legs directed her toward the gate before she glanced over her shoulder at Kuroko, "It's good to see you, Kuroko."

"You as well," his voice was gentle and Hana couldn't understand why. They hadn't left each other on the best of terms. If anything, she'd assumed he'd ignore her presence.

Deciding not to respond, Hana began to walk toward the gate. A quiet call sidetracked her and she turned her head back around to Kuroko. In her distraction, the boy had moved closer and was about a foot away from her. Hana did her best not to jump.

"I understand what you were saying when you left," His eyes were locked on the ground and Hana had to stomp the urge to comfort him, "I'm regretful I didn't see it sooner."

This time, a sardonic smile pulled at her lips, "You did see it… But, they were your friends. It's hard to accept ugliness when it comes from people you love."

"You were our friend too," his eyes came up from the ground to connect with hers, "If you could accept it, I would like to return to that friendship."

Glancing to the sky, Hana let out a huff, "It never left, idiot. You think it didn't kill me to avoid you all? Looking back on it, it's stupid. We'd hardly known each other long enough for such a strong bond."

"…" Kuroko remained silent, thinking over her admission. A blush wanted to work its way up her cheeks at her honesty, but Hana pushed it down. Kuroko deserved her honesty, like she had deserved theirs. The ghostly player finally broke the silence, "I once said bonds were easily broken, but I regret my words now. There are some bonds that cannot break."

"You've become poetic," Hana drawled to ease her nerves. This encounter was leaving her frazzled, "You should sell a book."

The slight tilt of Kuroko's lips was subtle, but it was there. He began to walk past her, but turned around at the last second, "I'll see you tomorrow, Imamura-san. Please get home safely."

"Will do," Hana's retort didn't have the bite she'd been expecting, "See you tomorrow, Kuroko."

The cling of the metal gate signified his departure and Hana let out a long-suffering sigh. _What the hell was that?_ She kicked at the pavement as she moved toward the gate. _Stupid, flowery language. Can't tell what the hell he means…_ What was that about bonds? Why weren't the rest of the miracles with him? Her mind was working in circles as Hana tried to piece through the decoded message Kuroko had left her.

Despite it all, her heart felt content.

Until she remembered Kagami bailing out on their bet. _Now, that must be fixed._

* * *

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **ADDBaby**_ _ **: Awh! No tears! Anyway, thank you for your wonderfully humorous reviews! I love them.**_

 _ **Wanderes**_ _ **s: I'll try to update as much as possible, but schools about to start back up so they'll go back down… Anyway, GoM will be here soon! I promise!**_

 _ **FrizzleChicken**_ _ **: Ah, yes! New light and new attitudes! Unfortunately, I know the Seirin oc is overused... it's just the best way to get them involved in the plot! I'm going to try and change things up because rewriting the series is just… well, boring. But thank you for your belief in me, it means a lot! Anyway! Thank you for another great review! And Hana will be confronting at least one of the Gom, sooner or later!**_

 _ **Naliyu**_ _ **: Thank you! That was super sweet! Also, the sparkles were totally based of Gai. I love that man. Thank you, again!**_

 _ **ArchimedesAckermann**_ _ **: Yep! Kuroko has returned! Speaking of Hanamiya… he'll come back sooner or later—you were totally right to be worried. Thank you for another great review!**_

 _ **CrystalViolet24**_ _ **: Awh, I'm glad it's your favorite! I love hearing stuff like that… I'm always so worried I'll put something out that people don't like. And second string is not gone! They will return! Thank you for your amazing support and review! I love them both.**_

 _ **Roseheart37819**_ _ **: Thank you thank you! I love Uoya too, and I can't pronounce his name either. And she will… manipulating people is a steady part of her foundation hahah. If I ever need help, I promise I'll come to you! Thank you so much!**_

 _ **LittleArisu**_ _ **: yes! Thank you!**_

 _ **AngelicHallow**_ _ **s: I feel bad, but every time you say you get emotional, I get so happy. I love that people feel emotions reading this! Again, thank you for another awesome review!**_

 _ **JustCallMeWhatever**_ _ **: Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter!**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Happy New Year's Eve! Another chapter for you wonderful people. Again, I'm nervous about it. I don't want to copy canon word for word, but there are just some things that _have_ to be there. Please tell me if I'm doing something wrong and I will fix it right away. Also, there is a scene in here that probably wouldn't mesh correctly with canon, but I liked it. (I'm using youtube clips to supplement my memory, so I might have messed up in more then one place). Anyway, here you guys go! Thank you!**

 _ **Warnings: Bad language, violence, and bad editing.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any canon events.**_

* * *

Golden Eyes and Golden Ties  


"Imamura-san?"

"Shit!" Hana jumped half a foot into the air, subsequently making her books fall onto the floor. With a glare at the mess, she turned around and met eyes with Kuroko, "You can't do that! It's not fair!"

"How so?" The question was stated innocently, but she doubted it was heartfelt. _Why'd I ever miss this little shit?_

"I'm not used to it anymore!" Hana ignored him to pick her books up off the floor. When she looked back up, Kuroko was still there. _Huh, would have thought he'd vanished by now._ Hana brought her books to her chest before poking a sharp finger into Kuroko's arm, "I know you do that shit on purpose. I saw you with Kagami yesterday."

"Really?" Kuroko actually looked surprised, a rare accomplishment, "I hadn't noticed you."

"That was the point," Hana admitted before continuing her walk to the cafeteria. She tried to sort through her papers, but it was proving too difficult. She stopped walking to fix them while responding to Kuroko, "I was trying to corner Kagami. For such a big guy, he's really hard to keep track of."

"He mentioned you," Kuroko fell into step beside her and handed her a wayward paper, "And something about a bet? Was that what I interrupted the other day?"

"It was," she didn't notice how her mouth formed a pout, "He's being a stubborn asshole about it."

That was one way to put it. The other way would have been much unkinder. She tried to corner him yesterday during the practice game between first and second years, but Kagami was having none of it. Every time she stepped a foot in his direction, he'd tighten his hold on his bag and walk away. It was like a screwed-up game of cat and mouse. _Except the tiger has become the mouse. Ironic._

Blue eyes flicked over to her, "If you don't mind me asking, what was it?"

"Uhm," now that she thought about it, this was a bit embarrassing. Who wanted to admit to needing a bodyguard, especially against someone's friend? Her teeth nipped at her lip, "I was _concerned_ that Akashi might have followed you to school… And I wanted a big scary person to hang out with- you know what I'm getting at?"

"I believe so," Kuroko blinked at her, _how can blinking be so condescending_ , "I didn't know you were so scared of Akashi-kun."

Well, when he put it that way. Hana's mouth tugged into a soft snarl, "I'd like to say I'm not, but that'd be lying. My last interaction with him… well you remember."

"It was very memorable," that was probably the nicest way he could put it. You know, since most people don't like being told they're basically worthless. Kuroko's eyes trailed away from her to the ceiling, "It was also very shocking. You made Kise-kun cry."

"…" Ignoring the twist of guilt, Hana gave him a deadpan look, "It's not like they were real tears. Besides, I thought you said you understood?"

"I do," Kuroko nodded as they turned down the next hallway. Now, Hana didn't know where they were going since Kuroko had taken the lead. Her blue haired friend put on a thoughtful expression, "They'd never had someone place the guilt directly on their shoulders, though."

"Oh," Hana snorted at that, "well my _sincerest_ apologies for calling you all out. Didn't mean to hurt the tiny children's egos."

"Please don't apologize. It was an admirable action," if Hana didn't know better, she'd say Kuroko sounded proud. But that couldn't be true, _right?_ His blue eyes trailed over to her face, "You haven't changed much."

"I have," Hana corrected him and the two came to a stop at the end of the hallway. There was a classroom a few feet ahead and Hana assumed that's where Kuroko was leading her. Looking away from Kuroko, she stared at the paint on the wall, "I grew up. I guess I've developed some morals too."

A soft look graced Kuroko's face, "It seems we've both matured in our time apart."

"Yeah," Hana agreed. _Speaking of time apart…_ She turned to Kuroko with the question that had been plaguing her since he arrived, "What happened to you anyway? Something's obviously up with you guys."

"…" The look in Kuroko's eye could only be described as heartbreaking, "I began to hate the thing I loved. I couldn't accept the consequences of Teiko's moto. I couldn't accept what my teammates were capable of and, in the end, I left."

"Good," Hana quickly backpedaled at how terrible that sounded, "Not like that! Your suffering is _not_ a good thing! That's not what I meant…" A hand came up to cover her eyes and Hana groaned, "Just kill me."

Another hand came to rest on top of hers and Kuroko pulled it away from her face. _His hands are soft,_ Hana's face erupted into a blush at the unexpected fact. Spontaneous human combustion sounded very convenient right now. Green eyes locked on the hand holding her own and Hana didn't know if it would be considered rude to yank it away or not. _Probably…_

Despite Hana's internal debate, Kuroko's eyes were soft when he looked down at her, "There's no need to be embarrassed. I understand what you were saying, Imamura-san."

"At least someone does," Hana hissed under her breath before quickly taking her hand back from Kuroko, "You know what? Shit like that was why you were my favorite."

"I'd always thought you were joking when you said that," Kuroko's face was back to the mask he normally wore, "I didn't know it was the truth."

Great, that subject. Now that her hand was safely back in her possession, Hana let out a long sigh, "Unfortunately, I still can't lie to you."

"I'm not sure that could be considered unfortunate."

"You say that now," Hana rolled her eyes, "Just wait until I tell you something you don't want to hear. You'll be changing your opinion really quick."

"If the time comes," Kuroko didn't seem concerned, "I'll deal with it then."

"Your funeral," There wasn't anything else she'd like to add to the topic. Her honesty was a force to be reckoned with, as they had all seen in the past. If he thought he could handle it, well, kudos to him. Looking for a subject change, Hana finally asked the question that had been bugging her the whole trip here, "Why'd you come down here?"

"I came to ask coach about formally joining the basketball club."

"Oh," Hana blinked at the, surprisingly, normal answer, "Cool."

The next Monday, Hana was regretting ever walking with Kuroko that day. Because of _him_ , she now had to partake in the basketball club's little tradition. It was more like hazing in Hana's opinion. She was a manager! Manager's don't need goals! From her position next to Kuroko, Hana scowled at Riko. _This builds character? More like public humiliation._

Not to mention the little tidbit about stripping naked in front of your crush. _That definitely qualifies as humiliation. What if you don't even like anyone?_ Hana pondered on that for a moment, _I could just say I like Uoya or something… He'd be traumatized, but I wouldn't have to actually complete my goal._

"This is easy," of course that was Kagami. The idiot stepped out of line and walked toward the edge of the building. Then, further proving his idiocy, jumped on top of the railing, "Kagami Taiga! Class 1-B! Year 5! I will defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the best in Japan!"

"…" Hana eyed his stance contemplatively, "Can I push him?"

"No," Kuroko didn't even have to think about his answer, "You should be kinder, Imamura-san."

"I would have caught him," Hana defended as Kagami jumped down, "I'm pretty strong."

Then, she could have hung him over the edge. He'd be forced to agree to her deal. It was a beautiful mental image. Too bad Kuroko had to go and ruin her fun.

"I believe that's an overestimation."

 _What!_ While Hana gaped at Kuroko in betrayal, the next player went up. She didn't listen to his resolution, or whatever Riko called it. Her green eyes were still trained on the ghost player as her mouth formed a pout. Deciding to forgo revenge, she flicked him in the arm, "If you were anyone else you'd be dead."

"Imamura-chan!"

"… Shit," Hana moaned. Riko was standing in front of her in determination and Hana didn't want anything to do with it, "Why do I have to be next? Choose someone else!"

At her objection, Riko's eyes flashed in the way Hana recognized as warning, "Come on!"

She did not like to be ordered around, Riko or not. Hana's eyes narrowed on the coach in subterfuge, "If you make me do this, you're going to regret it."

"It's tradition," Riko smirked back at Hana's challenge. Honestly, why had Hana ever befriended her? Riko never fell for her threats. The coach continued, "Just do it! Unless you don't want to join?"

 _Huh. Now there's an idea._ Hana blinked, "That works."

"Great—" Riko stumbled over her words, "Wait, what?! No!"

"Imamura-san," Kuroko nudged her forward, "It's alright. Everyone has to do it."

Letting out a loud moan, Hana dragged her feet toward the edge. Her eyes looked down at all the tiny pinpricks of people before she raised her hand in a halfhearted wave, "Imamura Hana! Class 1-D! Uhm…"

She'd never been good at public speaking. Her voice trailed off and Hana looked to Kuroko in apprehension. _The hell do I say?_ The boy didn't offer any help, but beside him Kagami raised an incredulous eyebrow. Which didn't help much either, though it did make Hana annoyed. _Stupid Kagami. Wait! What was his goal? Be the very best…_

"I will…" she furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember the words, "I will be the very best! Like no one ever was! To catch them all will be my true test!"

And with that, Hana was stepping away from the edge. When she turned around, Riko was eyeing her in suspicion, "I feel like I've heard that before…"

"Really?" Hana blinked dumbly, "It just kind of came to me."

"…" The coach's eyes narrowed, "Catch what?"

 _Opps. Didn't think that through._ Hana paused as she tried to think of an excuse, "All the basketballs?"

"…" Riko didn't look like she believed her, but she turned away anyway, "I'll hold you to that."

 _Shit._ Hana's pout went unnoticed, "Wonderful."

"Next!" The energetic coach pointed her finger at the lineup of first years. A second passed before Kawahara came forward with hard faced resolve. When the boy reached the rail, he yelled out his name… and then preceded to tell his whole life story. Sparkles and all.

From her position beside Kuroko, Hana deadpanned, "Can I push this one off?"

"No, Imamura-san."

"Damn."

Behind her, Furihata was talking to Fukuda. Hana leaned her head back to catch their words, "Wasn't that the Pokémon theme song?"

Fukuda nodded frantically in agreement, "I knew I'd heard it from somewhere! How'd she get away with that?!"

Apparently, Kuroko heard them too because he turned to Hana with raised brows. Hana gave him a guilty smile in return. His eyes blinked at her. Hana blinked back. In the background, Riko yanked Kawahara off before calling for Furihata. The staring contest between Kuroko and Hana continued.

Kuroko broke it first, "What's your true goal?"

"Uhm," Hana faltered, "I don't have one?"

"Really?" Kuroko looked away from her, "I expected differently."

"Huh?" She didn't like that look. Frankly, she didn't like what he was implying either, "What do you mean?"

Kuroko didn't have a chance to respond before it was his turn to go up. Did you know Kuroko was a magician? Well, he is. Either that or he has special ghost plasma that he can hide freaking _megaphones_ in. Hana, along with the rest of the first years, gawked at him. He brought the megaphone to his lips, opened his mouth, and then _bam._

"Hey!" That was one very angry principal, "The basketball club, again?!"

Next thing they knew, all the group was sitting in a straight line listening to the principal's rant. For Hana, it was going in one ear and out the other. She didn't care if they were banned from the roof or not. She didn't like heights anyway. To her left, Riko was pouting. It was strangely satisfying.

The lecture continued and she finally had enough of this. Raising her hand, Hana brought the attention onto herself, "Sir? I'm sorry to interrupt… but I'm deathly afraid of heights."

"Well, young lady, you should have thought of that before—"

Narrowing her eyes, Hana brought a hand up to her mouth and pretended to gag. The fake tears gathered easily, "I'm so sorry! This always happens-"

"Go!" The principal had looked away as soon as she gagged, "Get to the nurse!"

"Are you sure?" Hana forced another gag, "I don't want—"

"Go!"

"Thank you," she forced her voice to sound weak as she struggled to her feet. Hana brought another hand up to her mouth, but it was really just a rouse to cover the smug smile as she caught Kagami's eye. The redhead was glaring at her and Hana almost couldn't keep up the façade.

Stumbling toward the door, Hana opened it before racing down the stairs. She did not want to be in the vicinity when Riko began to hunt her down.

* * *

"Are you _still_ pouting?"

"Why are you following me?" Kagami twisted his head over his shoulder with a sharp glare, "I told you I'm not agreeing to your stupid deal—"

"Yet," Hana corrected, "You aren't agreeing _yet."_

"I'm never agreeing. And I'm not pouting!" Kagami's sentence turned into a snarl at the end.

"Sure, sure," Hana waved her hand as she skipped up beside him, "You don't even have it bad! Riko's making me run laps for leaving you guys. I'm a manager! I don't need to run laps!"

"You got what you deserved," Kagami huffed as he opened the door. He was polite enough to leave it open while Hana ducked in beside him, "Shouldn't have run off."

"You would have done the same damn thing."

"No, I wouldn't," Kagami didn't look at her when he replied. His feet led him to the cashier and after he ordered, he finally glanced back down at her with a raised eyebrow, "Are you always such a manipulative brat?"

Hana didn't even have to think about her answer, "Yes."

The cashiers thank you was lost to her when Kagami got his food. _How the hell can he eat all that?_ Rushing after Kagami, Hana altered her deal, "By the way, when you accept being my bodyguard, I'm not paying for your food. Glutton."

"Shut up, Imamura," Kagami was lost in his thoughts again, "I can't believe he got so mad over a little yelling."

"More like screaming," Hana furrowed her brow as Kagami slammed his plate down, "Or screeching. Or shrieking. You did sound like a crazed psychopath."

Hana was about to sit down across from him, but a new voice interrupted her pursuit. Kuroko was _there_ being a little sneaky shit, _again._ The blue haired boy blinked before inputting himself into the conversation, "I got in trouble too and I didn't even finish."

"Shit!" Hana jumped at the same time Kagami jolted back in his chair, choking on his burger. Bringing a hand up to her throat, Hana snarled at Kuroko, "I'm getting you a bell. Maybe a collar too."

"You again?!" Apparently, Kagami shared Hana's irritation, "I'm going somewhere else."

Kuroko ignored them both to mention his concerns about the punishment, "What if we aren't allowed to join the basketball team?"

With one last glare at Kuroko, Hana went to retrieve another chair. Shoving it down beside her ghostly friend, she shrugged, "It's not like Riko can say _no._ You went up there, it wasn't your fault the principal showed up."

While she talked, Kagami leaned across the table to address Kuroko, "I've been wondering, why didn't you go to a big school like the others?"

Subtly stealing a burger from the irritable redhead, Hana muttered the answer under her breath, "Because he's actually nice."

Taking a sip of his drink, Kuroko didn't respond to Kagami's questions for a long time. When he finally did, the answer startled Hana, "My middle school's team had one core principal, _winning is everything._ Instead of focusing on teamwork, the individual powers of the Generation of Miracles were honed to encourage the win. Nothing could beat us… but we weren't a team."

"My five teammates agreed," Hana ripped into the burger at Kuroko's words. _They did more than agree… they encouraged it._ Her green eyes watched Kuroko's face as he continued, "I felt that we were missing something important."

She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but Kagami's words interrupted her, "So, you're just going to beat the generation of miracles your own way?"

Kuroko looked down at the table before answering, "That's what I planned, but your words and the coaches have influenced me. Now, my biggest reason to play is to try and make you and the team the best in Japan."

"That's a lofty goal," Hana mumbled into her burger, "I'm down though."

As if just realizing her presence, Kuroko turned to her with inquiring eyes, "You're part of the team too, Imamura-san."

"Yup," Hana swallowed her food before giving her blue haired friend a smirk, "If you need help though, you know in your beat the miracles plot, I've got _lots_ of ideas…"

Kuroko blinked, "I don't believe that will be necessary. Your ideas tend to cause you more trouble then you intend."

"What—They do not!"

Interrupting the argument, Kagami slammed his fists down on the table, "We aren't going to try, we are going to be the best."

"…" When Kagami stood, Hana reached across and stole another burger, "You sound like a protagonist in a manga."

She didn't think Kagami would actually do anything at her statement, but that was before her head was shoved down roughly, "Kagami! Let me up!"

Instead, his hand ruffled her hair. Very hard, Hana would like to add. She peeked an eye up to look at his face when he responded, "You're a pain, Imamura. But if you can get us where we need to be, I'm all for it."

"You'll be in pain if you don't let me up," Hana hissed up at him.

As he watched the spectacle, Kuroko sucked on his milkshake neutrally, "Imamura-san doesn't like for people to manhandle her. She's thrown several fits in the past for it."

" _Fits?!"_

"Huh," Hana didn't like how interested Kagami sounded at that information, "I'll remember that."

"She's also very violent," Kuroko finished his statement with a loud suck on his straw, "You should be careful, Kagami-kun."

"I can handle it," he ruffled her hair again and Hana hissed into the table. _I don't like this… you are going to regret this Kagami._ Her eyes traveled to Kuroko and she amended her thoughts, _I'll get you too. I swear it!_

After that, Kagami let go of her and headed out. Hana remained where she was sitting, glaring balefully at Kuroko's face. For the most part, he ignored her. _That won't do_. Increasing the potency of her glare, Hana scooted her chair closer. This time he turned to her with wide blue eyes.

"Yes?"

"Fits, huh?"

If possible, his eyes only got wider and Kuroko responded innocently, "I didn't mean to offend you. Would you prefer to call them spasms?"

Ripping a bite of bread off her burger, Hana launched it at his head. The bread sailed through the air and both teenagers focused on its trajectory. When it got close to his face, Kuroko easily avoided it and she gave him a defeated pout, "Why couldn't you just let it hit you?"

Instead of replying, the bread was flicked back at her. The glare Hana gave him should have killed him, but Kuroko just kept sipping on his milkshake. Her eyes squinted. In return, Kuroko peered at her. Her lip tugged up into a snarl and Kuroko looked away. The tension continued for a moment before he was pushing his milkshake toward her.

Deciding it was a worthy attempt at a peace treaty, Hana brought it towards her mouth. _For now,_ _you are forgiven._

* * *

"So," Hana pondered as she walked with Kuroko to the bus stop, "That was an interesting dinner. Thanks for walking with me, by the way."

"It was," Kuroko agreed from beside her, "Kagami-kun is determined. I believe we'll have a chance to defeat them."

"You will," Hana smirked back at him, "And I'll be right there with you, cheering you on as you kick their asses."

"Imamura-san," despite the tone, Kuroko didn't reprimand her further. They arrived at the bus station shortly afterwards and Hana was about to sit down when Kuroko spoke again, "I'll see you tomorrow. Please travel safely—"

Hana quirked an eyebrow as she interrupted, "I thought you had to take this bus too?"

"To get home, yes," Kuroko looked back down the way they came, "But I had something to do before then."

"What?" Hana didn't care how rude she sounded, she was curious. In return, Kuroko gave her another chastising look, but Hana just smiled back innocently. _I need to work on that… learn to notch it up a bit._

"I intended to write my goal out so coach could see it-"

Hana perked up in interest, _now that sounded exciting,_ "Write it out? Where?"

"Imamura-san, please don't interrupt. I was going to the school courtyard—"

"Why didn't you tell me!" Hana jumped up and interrupted him again. The bus was forgotten behind her, "Can I go? Pretty please?"

The sigh Kuroko let out sounded resigned. Blue eyes stared at her and Hana ignored the shiver it brought on. If letting him read her mind allowed her to come with him, she'd do it in a heartbeat. A few seconds passed before Kuroko turned around and began to walk back to the school. Nibbling her lip, Hana watched him. _Was that a yes or a no?_

"Imamura-san, please don't fall behind."

"What, really?!" Hana sprang up and raced after him, "Awesome!"

The walk to campus passed pleasantly. Hana had honestly forgotten how much she enjoyed Kuroko's presence. He was normally calm and it blended well with her temper. Much like Uoya, he could even her prickly presence out into something manageable. _That's probably why he gets along with Kagami too._

When they arrived at the gate, Hana blinked. How was she going to climb that? How was Kuroko going to climb that? The large metal gate was shut and locked, the school grounds shadowed behind it. Turning toward Kuroko, Hana tried to gauge his reaction.

He didn't appear worried. His head tilted as he gazed into the school grounds, "This may be difficult."

Okay, good. At least Kuroko understood how hard this was going to be. Padding forward, Hana grabbed the padlock and observed it, "There's no way this is coming off."

"We may have to climb."

"If you can climb that," Hana snorted at the image, "My respect for you will grow exponentially."

Kuroko's blue eyes glanced at her before he walked up beside her. His hand reached the gate and gave it an experimental jiggle. It appeared sturdy and Kuroko placed a foot onto the edge. Another foot soon followed and then Kuroko was at the top. Hana was left gawking at the bottom, _I didn't know he could do that._

His face was shadowed by the streetlight when he looked down at her in expectation, "Are you coming, Imamura-san?"

"Uhm," was there a polite way to say hell no? Green eyes traced the metal gate warily, "You know… I was serious when I said I don't like heights."

"Oh," Kuroko blinked before his face went thoughtful, "You don't have to come with me—"

"No!" There was no way she was backing out of this now. Her dignity would not allow Kuroko to one up her. Shakily placing a foot on the metal, Hana pushed herself up. The rest of her limbs followed the example. _Don't look down… Don't look down…_

"Imamura-san? I believe it would be easier if you opened your eyes."

"Shhh," Hana didn't open her eyes, she just kept climbing. The metal jolted and she let out a screech, "What'd you do?!"

"…" Kuroko took a while to respond and when he did, it was from below, "I jumped down."

"Oh, hell no," her body refused to move, "I didn't think about that part!"

"Imamura-san, it's only a few feet."

"A few feet for you! It's like fifty for me!"

"Units of measure don't change based on a person's height."

"This—" Hana gasped out as she pulled herself higher, "This is not a time for you to be a smart ass!"

"My apologies, Imamura-san."

Twenty minutes later, Hana was walking beside Kuroko toward the courtyard. Her hair was a disheveled rat's nest and her knees were covered in a thin layer of dirt. She may have _accidently_ fallen off the gate when she tried to get down. It wasn't her fault though! Hana had been in the process of climbing down when she remembered she was wearing a skirt.

Well, it was safe to say that trying to cover your behind while successfully climbing down a fence wasn't a compatible situation. Kuroko had been visibly worried, but she saw that little smile. She damn well _saw it_!

Her arms were crossed over her chest as she sulked next to him, "So, do you know what your goal is?"

"I do," Kuroko eyed her with remnants of amusement, "The only matter I haven't figured out is how to write it down."

"You could use your shoe or something," Kuroko gave her a bland look and she tried to defend herself, "Like move the dirt—whatever, stop looking at me like that."

His lips twitched up again, "I was hoping to find something more permanent."

"Uhm…" Hana trailed her eyes over the dark school yard. They landed on the sports field and her mouth grew into a smirk. They had to mark the field in something. Her devious eyes turned to Kuroko, "Hey, Kuroko? How do you feel about chalk?"

"Chalk?" Kuroko questioned before following her gaze, "Oh. Yes, that would be a good choice."

After they retrieved the chalk, Hana being a nice person and carrying it for him, she stood back and let Kuroko do the work. Now, that might seem cruel, but there were things called security cameras. Hana doubted they'd register Kuroko, but they would definitely register her. Breaking into a private school was bad enough, she didn't need a vandalism charge as well.

She leaned against a tree as she watched. He hadn't told her his goal yet, so Hana was interested to see what he wrote down. Despite Hana inviting herself on this little adventure, Kuroko didn't seem to mind her presence. _Besides, it's been fun! It's like a spy mission._ Hana offered him a cheeky wave when his head lifted.

Apparently, that meant Kuroko was done. He retrieved the chalk and made his way to her. When he got close enough, Hana let out a startled laugh. The tip of his nose was coated white. Pulling her shirt over her palm, Hana stepped forward, "You've got some on you."

"My mistake," His hand came up to wipe it off, but Hana beat him to the punch. When she retreated, Kuroko bent his head softly, "Thank you."

"No problem," Hana smirked before pushing off from the tree. She bumped shoulders with him affectionately, "So what'd you write?"

Kuroko's blue eyes traveled over to the chalked markings, "I will make you the best in Japan," his eyes flickered back to her, "My goal is to help Kagami-kun achieve his."

"Yeah, you guys made that promise," Hana teetered on her feet and tugged her lip into her mouth. An awkward silence grew before Hana finally voiced her thoughts, "I just want you to know… I'm proud of you, Kuroko."

Kuroko's eyes widened subtly, "Imamura-san?"

"I'm not saying it again," Hana blushed as she looked up to the sky, "You've just grown up and you're stronger now- I don't know what I'm talking about—"

Hana was cut off when Kuroko grabbed her hand. She still didn't look at him, but her blush grew into a dark red. Kuroko didn't seem to mind and he squeezed her hand before releasing it, "Thank you, Imamura-san."

Ignoring the still fading pressure from his grip, she smiled down at the grass in thought. Hana's green eyes finally flickered back to Kuroko. His eyes were directed on her and she gave him a rueful smile, "Don't thank me, Kuroko. I mean it."

"If that's what you wish," Kuroko bowed his head, but Hana caught the twitch of his lips. When he turned around, his voice echoed back to her, "We should probably go, though. There is a camera pointed in this direction."

"…" when his words registered, Hana blanched before sprinting after him, "Kuroko! Why didn't you say that earlier!"

"I'd thought you would have noticed."

 _That little smart ass,_ Hana growled when she caught up with him. Despite her irritation, her only retribution was a shove against his arm, "You need to tell people shit like that."

Kuroko didn't respond, but the look he gifted her with was fond.

* * *

She was so tired. Absolutely exhausted. The cool floor of the gym felt wonderful on her back and Hana relaxed further into her halfhearted slumber. A couple members of the team were moving around behind her, but Hana didn't open her eyes to look. In the background, she heard the boys talking in the dressing room.

"Generation of Miracles," That was Furihata, "These guys are insane!"

Yup, back to sleep she goes. It lasted for a whole two minutes. Unfortunately, her peace was interrupted by another player yelling. Letting out a soft moan and pushing herself up with her palms, Hana turned her attention toward listening to the assembled boys. It sounded like everyone was there. Except Riko.

"Something about a practice game-," Hana couldn't recognize that voice.

"-I think I saw her skipping," someone else said.

"Skipping?" Hyuuga's voice sounded terrified, "Be aware guys, if she's skipping that means our opponents are going to be really tough."

 _Looks like things are getting interesting now,_ Hana forced herself up to her feet when she heard the boys come out. She looked around for Kuroko or Kagami, but like normal, Kuroko was in his invisible mode and Hana made her way to the short-tempered redhead. He was looking at the magazine one of the boys had brought out, face breaking out into an excited smile.

"Has anyone ever told you how creepy you look?" Hana didn't expect for him to reply, so she continued, "Which article are you on?"

"Shut up, Imamura," his retort didn't have as much heat as it normally did. Showing her the article, Hana watched his large finger point at purple hair, "Murasakibara Atushi. You know him?"

"I do," Hana didn't want to offer more, but Kagami gave her a look. She continued with an eyeroll, "He's huge and he will eat you."

"…What."

"I'm not talking about them," her voice was firm, "I get that you're all super excited about facing them, but I don't like to remember them. You heard all about Kuroko's past the other day—mine isn't as strong as his, but it left a pretty big freaking hole."

"Uh, sorry?" Kagami's eyes had widened at the unexpected declaration, "So… he's huge?"

"He's got like half a foot on you."

"Shit," he looked taken aback, but it faded into excitement quickly, "I'm pumped!"

Hana gave him a droll look, "Of course you are. Do you get off on it?"

"What?!" Kagami dissolved into a coughing fit and Hana relished in his blushing cheeks, "No! What the hell, Imamura!"

"Just checking," the smile she gave was sweet, "I mean, I don't have anything against it—no kink shaming here."

"Imamura!" His hand tried to grab her, but Hana was quicker and ducked under his palm. When she was a safe distance away, she looked back up to the blushing tiger with a smirk. His hand was still outstretched in the air and it was twitching erratically. The words he growled out were threatening, "I'm going to kill you."

"Heard that before. Still breathing."

Kagami didn't have a chance to respond before Hyuuga ordered everyone to start practicing. The redhead's shoulders were tight as he stomped toward the captain. The orders were simple, and first years and second years lined up to start another practice game. Meanwhile, Hana made her way to her customary hiding spot, giving Takeda-sensei a quiet hello before sitting.

The game continued much like the first one. Kagami and Kuroko were working great together and the other first years were helping out from the sides. _They'll take them down, huh?_ Hana smirked as she watched Kuroko direct a pass to Kagami, _I guess it might work… even if Kagami is an asshole. Fits the pattern at least._

Her hand stopped writing as she watched Kagami face off against Izuki. The second year was trying to block him, but Kagami darted to the side before twisting on heel and doing an alleyoop. The resulting dunk made the metal hoop clang. In a way, it was cool, but Hana didn't quite agree with the second years worshiping. Even Kuroko looked impressed. _Maybe it's my own opinion influencing things?_

Riko interrupted her observation, "Everyone! Gather round!"

Ignoring the meeting, Hana's eyes moved away from the grouping and scanned around the court. She paused. There were _girls._ There were never girls. With her brows furrowed, Hana moved her eyes around the court again. This time she caught a shadow in the farthest corner beside the stage's curtain.

 _Oh hell no._ The shadow was blonde. At first, Hana hoped it was a girl. But when she turned her attention back to the grouping at the center of the court, she realized she was dead wrong. Hana used Takeda-sensei as a shield and scooted closer to the wall.

"-They face at the national level," someone was speaking, "They've been to Inter High every year."

"And this year," that was Riko, "They've gotten their hands on one of the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryouta!"

Well, that cemented who the shadow might be. Ignoring the conversation of the team, Hana slumped further against the wall, "Shit."

Takeda-sensei looked down at her in worry, but Hana just waved a hand at him. The team continued to chat and Hana watched warily. Kise was going to be making his grand entrance sooner or later. She knew because the group of girls had gotten bigger.

 _One, two, three,_ _and there he is_. He was taller than Hana remembered and his hair was longer. Her eyebrow quirked as she trailed over the rest of his body. The outfit he wore was… _interesting._ Frankly, Hana thought he looked like a law school dropout, but hey, she didn't know fashion. Then he spoke, further bringing Hana's world upside down.

"I'm so sorry," his voice sounded apologetic, but you could never tell with him, "Just give me five minutes?"

Kise made his way to the grouping of girls and began to sign autographs as he pushed them outside. While she watched, Hana debated the pros and cons of slipping out with them. On one hand, no Kise. On the other hand, angry Riko and angry Hyuuga. _Not worth it…_

During Kise's distraction, Hana darted to her group of team members. Tsuchida noticed her and tilted his head over his shoulder in greeting. Hana brought a finger to her lips in a silent plea. He didn't respond, but he didn't call her out either and Hana took it as acceptance. As she watched Kise's back, Hana prepared herself, _I won't be a damn coward. Straighten up and face him head on._

A little bit later, Kise returned. His golden eyes were focused in on Kuroko, "It's been a while Kuroko-cchi!"

"It has," Kuroko gave a subtle nod, "It's good to see you."

Peeking her head around the assembled group, Hana watched as the conversation continued and Kise broke out into his dramatics. _I haven't missed that._ In front of her, Furihata was flipping through the magazine, "Kise Ryouta… it says he's a model and he joined his second year?!"

Kise scratched at the back of his head in an imitation of modesty, "They really over exaggerated with that… I'm proud to be part of the Generation of Miracles, but I'm one of the worst of the lot. Me and Kuroko-chhi were bullied for it all the time."

"Bull shit," Hana coughed into her fist and Kise's eyes traveled over the group searching for the culprit. When they got close to her, she ducked behind Mitobe's back. _Okay, so still a coward._ A few feet to the side, she saw Kagami break off from the group while she hid.

Hana wanted to follow… he was her future body guard after all, _but then Kise would see my face._ If only there was a way. Her head twisted around the area before green eyes landed on a basketball and her face split into a smirk.

Bringing the basketball up to head level, Hana followed after Kagami. She doubted anyone even noticed with how enraptured they were by Kise's stories. Her feet padded stealthily behind Kagami and when he came to a stop across from Kise, Hana nudged him with her elbow. Kagami looked down at her before looking back up to the blonde.

Seconds passed before he did a hilarious double take, "Imamura?!"

"Keep your voice down," Hana hissed as she brought the basketball closer to her face, "What are you doing?"

"I'm about to challenge him—"

"Perfect," Hana removed the ball blocking her face and shoved it into Kagami's hands, "Throw this at his face as hard as you can."

Kagami blinked as he eyed the orange ball she presented him with. A dark smile overtook his face shortly afterwards, "Thanks."

"No problem—"

Kagami hurled the ball. The miracle felt it and raised an arm, making the ball hit Kise's palm with a smack. As the miracle flapped his hand around, she prepared to dart off, but there was now a large palm resting on top of her head. All of Hana's teammates turned to Kagami and her in shock, Riko's voice ringing out the loudest.

Hana turned her eyes onto Kagami with a glare when she was still held in place, "This is the part where I go hide."

"Ow!" Kise turned to Kagami before his voice broke off, "What was that- Imamura-chan?"

"Kagami," Hana's face transferred into a tight smile as she hissed under her breath, "When this is over be prepared to lose at least three limbs."

Instead of responding, Kagami tightened his hold on her head and looked toward Kise with a grin, "Sorry to interrupt the reunion. I hope you didn't come all the way down here just to check on us?"

"If you don't let go of my head—" Hana was interrupted by Kise this time.

The blonde had taken a couple steps forward and was looking at her with a gaping mouth, "Imamura-chan? What are you doing here?"

"…" Despite the new tension, Hana thought the answer was self-explanatory, "I go here?"

"With Kuroko-cchi?" Kise took another step forward and Hana eyed his arms warily. _He better not think about hugging me._ Turns out she didn't have to worry because Kagami pushed her head down with a smirk. Hana eyed his huge foot, _I wonder if he'd feel me stomp it?_

"Thanks for the idea, Imamura," Hana tilted her head up at her teammates words. Across from her, Kagami's words made Kise freeze and he trailed his gold eyes up the redhead's arm to his face.

When he looked back to her, Kise's face was hopeful, but there was a tinge of desperation underneath. The blonde's eyes searched her face for a sign, but Hana didn't give any of her feelings away. When he noticed her apathy, Kise's eyes transferred back to Kagami. The tight smile he plastered on was enough for Hana's nerves to spike in warning.

"Kagami," Hana snarled under her breath. _Dumbass put me in this position,_ her eyes flashed, "You should write your dying will."

"Don't threaten me, Imamura," despite his words, Kagami finally let her go and she moved away from his reach. Kagami's red eyes focused in on Kise, "Let's play pretty boy."

"I'm not sure," Kise wasn't looking at Kagami. Instead, his eyes were trained on Hana. She didn't know what the big deal was… It had only been a couple months since they saw each other. It wasn't like he actually missed her. Kise took a step toward her, _again,_ "I'm a little overwhelmed right now."

"Doubt it," Hana spoke without thinking, "You're being overdramatic, Kise. I shouldn't be surprised."

"What?" His steps stopped and Kise's face slackened a bit at the heat of her statement, "I'm serious! I hadn't thought—no one knew—"

After his little speech ended, Hana rolled her eyes, "I don't want to hear it. We went to the _same damn school._ If you wanted to apologize, you could have found me _."_

"You didn't want to see us!"

Hana's eyes narrowed on the blonde as his voice rose, "You're right. I didn't want to see you all, in fact, I still don't."

The flash of hurt on his face was enough for Hana to rein in her lashing tongue. Kise's arm came up before he brought it back down to his side, "…Imamura-chan," he let out a soft sigh and sharp eyes turned to Kagami, "Well, I guess I will play. Might as well thank you for that display."

Kise took his jacket off and tossed it to the floor. Figuring it was about to get intense, Hana made her way to the rest of the team. The first years were watching her with slackened jaws and Kuroko was giving her a cursory once over before his attention returned to Kagami. Licking her suddenly dry lips, Hana made her way past Kise. At least that was what she intended to do.

"Imamura-chan," Kise's hand was unexpectedly latching onto her arm and Hana felt the warmth radiating from it, "I wasn't kidding. I really missed you."

Swallowing the curse words that wanted to rise, Hana looked up and made eye contact with Kise, "You don't mean that. If you meant it, we wouldn't be having this conversation now."

"I do," his hand tightened before he let her go with a strained smile, "You're wearing my necklace? It looks nice-"

"Don't," this time she let the venom soak her words, "It's not your necklace, Kise."

"But… alright," His eyes disconnected from hers and trailed back to Kagami, "I'll talk to you later, okay Imamura-chan?"

Her resulting chuckle was coated in a thick layer of disbelief. Hana didn't look back as she walked away, "Yeah, let's not."

By the time she got back to her team, Hana's fists were shaking. The duo hadn't started their duel yet and Hana came to stand beside Kuroko to watch. Her blue haired friend was examining Kise with a barely noticeable frown. It must be strange to see his old friend facing off against his new one.

Despite her thoughts, his tone was neutral when he finally voiced his opinion, "This could be bad."

"It's always bad around you guys," Hana watched the two hotheads stare at each other before jolting into motion, "Kise's changed."

"He has. Though you were quite mean, Imamura-san," Kuroko's eyes blinked over to her, "I hadn't expected that."

"You should have," Hana snorted before wincing as Kise darted around Kagami easily, "I would have said the exact same thing to you if you came up to me like that."

"…" Kuroko paused, "Well, I'm glad I didn't."

"You were always one of the smart ones," Hana approved. As they watched, Kise copied Kagami's move against Izuki and dunked the ball into the hoop. Kagami couldn't keep up and stumbled to the ground, gaping up at an apathic Kise. The blonde didn't spare him a glance as he went to retrieve the ball.

"What—" Kawahara sounded shocked, "He just beat Kagami! So easily! These friends of yours are crazy!"

"I don't know that person," Kuroko didn't look away from his former teammate, "It's only been a few months, but it seems I underestimated the growth of their strength."

"No doubt their egos did too," Hana snorted as Kise walked toward them. She agreed with Kuroko though; this wasn't the Kise she had known. The light shone off his eyes when he came toward them. For some reason, it was intimidating. _Kise isn't supposed to be intimidating._

"Well, that was a disappointment," Kise dribbled the ball in front of him before addressing the gathered teammates, "I can't just leave after seeing such a terrible display."

No one had anything to say in reply and Kise continued, "Give us Kuroko-cchi. I seriously miss playing with you and this is a waste of your skill. You could do so much better! What do you say?"

"…" Hana twitched while the rest of her team froze in disbelief, "Called it. His ego could take down an army."

Kise's eyes turned to her at the sound of her voice, "You could come too, Imamura-chan! You really helped us out in the past, these guys don't have anything to offer you—"

"Neither do you," this was just too much. Hana stepped forward with a snarl, "I helped you guys out when we were _friends._ We aren't friends anymore, Kise."

A hand grabbed onto the sleeve of her shirt and Hana allowed herself to be tugged back beside Kuroko. Her blue haired friend offered Kise a soft bow, "Thank you, but I have to respectfully decline your offer."

"What?!" Kise gawked back at him, "But! Winning was everything to you, remember?"

Kuroko remained impassive, "My thinking has changed since then."

"Thank god," Hana sighed out in relief, "At least one of you isn't an overconfident jerk."

"This isn't like you! You can't be serious," Kise turned to Hana with a frown, "And you, I don't remember you being this mean… what happened to you?"

Ignoring the hurt on his face, Hana quirked an eyebrow, "I grew up and gave up on all the half-assed friendships."

"Imamura-san," Kuroko scolded with a tug on her sleeve. His blue eyes gave her a chiding look before turning back to Kise, "More importantly, I've made a promise to Kagami-kun. We've promised to defeat the Generation of Miracles."

Speaking of Kagami, a force appeared behind Hana and Kuroko and then there was a hand on top of her head _again_. The scowl that broke out on her face was immediate. Ignoring Hana's ire, Kagami turned to address Kise with a dark laugh, "That's right. We made a promise to take you guys down."

"Really?" Kise's eyes darkened over and a smirk graced his lips, "Let's see if you can live up to that."

Well, this was just buckets of _fun._ The tension sky rocketed around them as the three boys faced off in a staring contest. Bringing her hands up, Hana tried to tug Kagami's hand off, "Don't include me in your dick measuring contest. Let go of me, Kagami!"

Kagami snorted and his grip tightened on her hair, "You're a bitch, Imamura."

Her nails dug into the top of his hand, "I understand you're self-conscious, but don't put your insecurities onto me."

"Imamura," Kagami's face grew red at the insult and Hana watched the steam coming off him warily, "You—you little-"

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko's voice interrupted Kagami's incoming rant, "You're being childish."

"I'm being childish?! What about her?!"

"Hey now," Kise broke into the conversation. His eyes were focused on Kagami's hand and he gave the redhead a silky smile, "Can you let Imamura-chan go? You've been manhandling her a lot and I don't really like it."

 _Oh, what the hell._ Hana finally succeeded in getting Kagami's hand off her head and took a step away from him. She trailed her eyes over her, now forgotten, teammates. Their eyes were wide as they watched the conversation. _This little showdown needs to end._

Swallowing her nerves, Hana turned toward Kise, "You should probably head out. I'm sure you have somewhere to be?"

"…" Kise took a little too long to turn away from Kagami. When he focused in on her, he gave her a happy smile, "You're right. Sorry about all this. Could you walk me out, Imamura-chan?"

"Uhm," Hana turned toward Kuroko with begging eyes. The ghostly player didn't intercept and Hana was left to her fate. Shooting Kuroko an icy look, Hana faced Kise, "Yeah. Whatever."

At her agreement, Kise walked forward with a grin that Hana didn't return. The light dimmed out of his eyes for a moment before it came back in full swing. Waving an impatient hand, Hana ordered Kise to follow after her. They fell into step together and spent the walk out of the gym in silence. When the door closed behind him, Kise turned toward Hana.

"Imamura-chan," Kise broke off and pulled a thoughtful expression, "Did you mean what you said?"

Hana paused and squinted in the sunlight, "About what?"

"You said we weren't friends anymore," Kise looked away from her and frowned down at the sidewalk, "Do you really think that?"

"Yeah," she didn't miss a beat. Ignoring Kise's sharp intake of breath, Hana continued, "The friendship we had in middle school is gone. Whatever we had back then is over—"

His hand latched onto her arm again. When she was pulled to a stop, Hana shot a glare up at his face only to freeze at the look in Kise's eyes. They were the same dark shade from when he beat Kagami, "I don't believe that."

"Really," Hana drawled. She tried to yank her arm back, but to no avail, "Didn't you just complain about Kagami manhandling me? You're doing the exact same thing—"

His hand loosened, but Kise didn't remove his grip. His thumb rubbed over her arm as he sorted through his thoughts, "I'm going to prove you wrong, okay? I— _we_ really missed you when you left."

"This is stupid, Kise," Hana's eyes narrowed on the blonde in challenge, "You're acting like… I don't know. You're making this out to be a bigger deal then it was. We weren't even that close—"

"We were a lot closer than you think," a sad smile pulled at his lips, "You don't believe me, do you?"

Hana's face pinched in confusion and a tinge of irritation, "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Kise let go of her arm. Hana thought that was the end of the conversation, but his hand reached out suddenly and grabbed a hold of her necklace. His finger trailed over the little star, "I'm glad you're wearing this."

She stepped back. The necklace fell out of his grip and Kise turned his golden eyes onto her face. The bewilderment Hana felt transferred into her voice, "Why are you doing this? Is this a game to you?"

"It's not," Kise gave her another smile and most of the grief had filtered out. The emotion he displayed now appeared to be determination, "I'll see you soon, Imamura-chan."

"…" Hana frowned at his back when he turned around. He was about ten feet away when Hana called after him, "It'd be a lot easier to see with your head out of your ass!"

Her face fell as her words registered. _Okay. That was the lamest thing I've ever said._

Kise didn't respond, but the lift of his shoulders informed Hana he'd let out a huff. Either in irritation or amusement, she didn't know. Left alone in silence, it only took a moment before Hana's fury flooded back into her system

 _That arrogant, pompous, prick._ Her fists clenched as she watched Kise's body become smaller, _he thinks Seirin's weak, he wanted to steal Kuroko, thinks he can just waltz in here… No, not happening buddy._

Well, looks like she didn't have any other option. She'd just have to show him the error of his ways. Plunging her hand into her sock, Hana retrieved her phone. Quick fingers dialed out a familiar number and Hana waited impatiently through the dial tone. Seconds later, a confused voice responded.

"Hana-chan?"

"Hey, Iseri," Hana's eyes were still glaring at the direction Kise went, "I need your help."

His voice was suspicious when he finally responded, "With what?"

"You went to Kaijo, right? Do you have a map of the campus?"

"…yes?"

"Perfect."

* * *

 _ **Reveiws! (do you guys want me to start replying to these by private messaging? Or keep this up?)**_

 _ **Crystalviolet24 : It probably would have been better if she gave him a hard time… I just can't get mad at the tiny ghost child. Blame that on me, haha! And the bond thing happened in chapter 17. I was just hinting toward a conversation the two had together before they're friendship spun apart. Anyway, thank you!**_

 _ **Animegal1998 : thank you!**_

 _ **AliceEverette : Ahhh! Thank you!**_

 _ **FrizzleChicken : Thank you :) I'm glad it wasn't cringy… I'm worried about the rest of the reunions though! And yes, the adventure begins! Thanks for your support!**_

 _ **NinjaPenguinLover : Dude, thank you! The fact that it made your day is awesome and I'm glad you enjoyed it! **_

_**ArchimedesAckermann : Thank you! Yep, a lot of the reunions are gonna be a bit angsty at first… Sorry if that's a bad thing! Thank you for another great review! **_

_**LillyLunaK : I present you Kise!**_

 _ **ADDBaby : So many tears! And the innocent ability will be coming soon, promise! Thank you for another great review! **_

_**JeyaMendoza : Thank you! Another great review! Actually two! And yes, hiding over confrontation… Unfortunately, there are only so many hiding places. Awh, I'm glad you think the ship has sailed! I hope you aren't too mad about the angry words she gave Kise… Anyway, thanks!**_

 _ **AngelicHallows : I hope she spices canon up! It's a bit hard to find a balance between Canon and Original, but your support helps me feel confident about what I'm doing! I'm glad you like Hana's character and thank you for another review!**_

 _ **RedRaspberries : Thank you for another review! Hana will definitely annoy him, but I'm sure he'll return it in kind. I'm planning for the two to develop a good friendly relationship sooner or later.**_

 _ **Naliyu : Thank you!**_


	24. Chapter 24

**Okay, longish authors note coming up. Here's a new chapter for you guys! Still a little angsty... it'll even out eventually. But furthermore, this is my first time writing a canon game. Please, please, please give me advice on it. Is it too detailed, not detailed enough? I mean almost everyone has seen these games and we know what happens, but I don't know. It felt weird to skim through the details... I also keep writing huge chapters and I'm sorry if that's a bad thing. I just can't seem to write a scene under 2,000 words. This thing is gonna be _long._ Also, updates are probably going to go back to once a week since school begins soon _._ Anyway, authors note over! Thank you for the favs, follows, and reviews! They're all great! Thank you, thank you!**

 _ **Diclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke**_

 _ **Warnings: Bad langauge, violence, terrible editing.  
**_

* * *

Seirin VS Kaijo

That night, Hana was working on her master plan. Iseri had come over at her request and now, both teens were looking over the Kaijo map. It was a freaking _huge_ school. They had two different maps, front _and_ back. Hana thought Seirin was big, but no. Compared to Kaijo, Seirin looked like a cockroach. Or an ant… something small and crunchable.

"…" Her eyes squinted at the tiny lettering, "You have two science halls."

"We do," Iseri didn't move from his position on her bed, "Why are you looking at the science classrooms?"

"Funny you ask," Hana's face twisted into a smirk, "Science classrooms have laboratories. Laboratories have chemicals. If you combine said chemicals in a certain way, you get a pretty toxic mixture."

"… please tell me you aren't planning to poison my classmates."

"Nah," she flipped the paper over to look at the second level, "I was thinking about making a stink bomb or something… but it doesn't have the desired effect."

With a sigh, Iseri pushed himself up, "Hana-chan, you haven't explained to me _why_ you're doing this."

"I saw Kise," Hana grimaced at the memory from earlier, "He came to Seirin since we have a practice game against his team. I don't know, Iseri. He acted like… _gah!_ Why is this so hard to explain!"

"From what I've gathered," Iseri commented with raised brows, "It seems as if you and Kise-san did not have the best encounter."

"He tried to convince Kuroko to transfer to his school! He insulted Seirin! He…" Hana scowled down at the map, "He said he _missed_ me. If he really missed me, wouldn't he have done something about it back at Teiko?"

Iseri crawled toward her. When Hana caught his eye, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "In most circumstances, yes."

Hana scoffed, "Exactly—"

"I wasn't quite done, Hana-chan," Iseri removed his hand to sit down beside her, "Do you remember your fight with Kitano-kun? It took him several weeks to accept his fault. From my brief meetings with Kise-san, he seems to be equally difficult."

"…" she didn't know what to say. That explanation didn't take away any of her anger, but it did add a different emotion. Bringing a hand to her forehead, Hana looked up at Iseri, "Why'd you have to go and make sense?"

Because, it did make sense in a way. She'd known the miracles were stubborn and set in their ways. It was part of why she hadn't liked them in the first place, yet she chanced it anyway. But the memory of Kise's devastation and determination at her treatment was enough for her to reminisce on their encounter. _He had seemed serious_ , her frown faltered at the thought, _Kuroko said I was mean… did I go overboard?_

"Your falling out with them was unfortunate," Iseri ignored her complaint, "I know it hurt you, but you need to keep in mind that the situation did not only involve yourself. You forgave Momoi-san and Kuroko-san, yes?"

"I did," her eyes narrowed on his thin face, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It just seems hypocritical, in a way, that you allowed them the reprieve you aren't allowing Kise-san."

She froze, _that's not true._ Trying to defend herself, Hana argued his point, "… but they didn't do what the other's did—"

"No," Iseri agreed, "but they stood by silently. That can be considered just as evil as doing it directly."

"I guess," Hana considered his words, "Are you saying I should give Kise a chance, like I did with Momoi and Kuroko? See if he meant it or not?"

"I'm not saying anything," Iseri's retorted sagely, "This is your choice. If you believe he was sincere, do what you think is right."

 _Do what you think is right…_ Well, she could do that. Her frown smoothed out and a sharp grin stretched over her face in its place, "Alright. I'll see if he means it."

"I know that smile, Hana-chan."

"It's nothing bad, promise!" She flapped her hand at the implied accusation, "If he wants my friendship back, then we'll start at the beginning. Could you hand me that other map?"

"The beginning? When he helped our team in the match?" Iseri's face pinched in puzzlement, "And if you are allowing him this chance, why do you need the map?"

"Nah," Her returning smile had too many teeth, "Our friendship started after that—I'll just have to ask my dad for help and _that's_ only for his chance to rebuild our friendship," She grabbed the map out of Iseri's hands and smirked at the image, " _This_ is for implying Seirin's weak."

Her old friend's eyes became wary, "I'm concerned."

"Don't be," Hana laid the two maps out in front of her, "Trust me on this."

"You have never proven to be trustworthy when you wear that smile."

Stalling in her pursuit of a highlighter, Hana gave him a quick glare, "I'm glad we don't go to the same school."

At her lie, Iseri smiled pleasantly, "You don't mean that."

"… Yeah, I don't," she paused, "Hey, can I borrow your uniform?"

* * *

She was lost. Hana was holding a box of cupcakes and wandering the halls of Kaijo, lost out of her ass. She hadn't brought the maps with her since she thought she could remember the pathway correctly. A fact that was proven wrong very quickly. Sticking her head around the next corner, Hana prayed to see a sign for the gym. No such luck.

At least she finished the other part of her plan. Despite the lack of her map, it was pretty easy to locate the restrooms. She felt a little bad actually… Hana took advantage of Kise's numerous fan girls like her first revenge attempt. This time though, she had taken it a step further and wrote Kise's number in a few bathroom stalls with several suggestive messages. Childish? Yes. Effective? Also yes.

Back to the present problem. It might have been easier if she could ask for help, but she stuck out like a sore thumb. The blazer she borrowed from Iseri was way too big for her and she glared down at the sleeves. The matching skirt didn't really match either, per say. Hana had just grabbed it off the floor and hoped no one would look close enough to see the color difference. _Can't forget the oversized box of cupcakes too…_

She padded down the hallway before turning left. Another hallway, another left turn. Wasn't there something about always going left in a maze? Or was it right? Hana didn't know. It's not like it mattered anyway, considering this wasn't a maze. _It's just a giant monster of a school._

Taking another left turn, Hana felt her phone buzz against her ankle, "… Oh man, I'm so dead."

She paused and rested against the wall while getting her phone out of her sock. It was quite a flexible feat considering she didn't let go of the cupcakes either. With one hand, she flipped it open and brought it to her ear warily, "Hello?"

"Imamura-chan!" Riko's voice was frantic, "Where are you?! We're leaving in twenty minutes!"

"Ah ha," Hana chuckled nervously, "About that—"

"…" the tone Riko took could be described as demonic, "Where are you?"

"I'm already at Kaijo…"

" _Why?"_

"Nothing bad! I'm just… taking care of something," despite Riko not being able to see her, Hana pulled a guilty smile, "If I bring you a present, can I be forgiven?"

Riko paused, "What kind of present?"

In the background, Hana heard Hyuuga echo the words in disbelief before adding his own input, "Imamura! Don't steal anything!"

"Steal something?!" Riko questioned Hyuuga before her voice came back into the receiver, "What are you doing, Imamura-chan?!"

"Don't worry," Hana couldn't stop the anxious giggle, "Uhm- Well! I'll see you guys soon! Bye!"

" _Imamura-chan!"_ Riko's voice cut off when Hana slammed the phone shut. As she continued her search for the gym minutes later, Hana grimaced, _she's going to kill me… I better find a damn good present._

Five minutes later, Hana was standing in front of the gym doors with a smile. She found it! She didn't know what kind of school put their gym near the mathematics hall, but it was too late to care. Now, Hana just had to prepare herself for the grand finale. _And find the boy's dressing room… hopefully they aren't there yet._

Pushing the door open as softly as she could, Hana peered into the gym. There were a couple people hanging about, but they didn't turn toward her entrance. She moved into the room slowly and closed the door behind her. Still, no one looked. Taking inventory of the area, Hana found the dressing room… _one, two, three!_

Hana ran like the wind. When she was done, she collapsed against the wall and looked at the area again. No weird looks or anything… _lucky as hell._ Putting her ear as close to the doorway as she could, Hana listened to see if anyone was in there. If they were anything like Seirin, it'd be loud as hell. She heard nothing and darted inside.

It looked normal. Metal lockers lined the wall and there were a couple of benches in the middle. With a sigh of relief, Hana made her way to the bleachers. Finally, she could put the cupcakes down. Hana sat down too and lifted the lip of the pink box. The sight that greeted her was six perfectly put together green cupcakes with carrot icing. _The same cupcakes I threw at Kise's face._ Well technically, there was _one_ alteration… instead of lime, Hana had asked her father to make them wasabi flavored.

With a smirk, she retrieved the sharpie from her breast pocket and tore the cap off with her teeth. The words she wrote on the inside of the box were as followed: _Here's a friendship gift! Good luck! A true friend would eat them all! Especially since I'll know if you do or not!_

Closing the lid, Hana stretched her arms above her head, "Okay, step one done. Now… onto step two."

Pulling her sharpie out again, she wrote her final message on top of the box. _These are_ _for Kise-kun only! If you open them, the cameras will see you!_ The little heart she drew was just an extra touch to make it seem like a gift from a fan girl.

"Okay," Hana clapped her hands together and looked away from her art project, "I should probably go wait for Riko now."

Or, that's what she would have done if a voice didn't come from outside. Hana froze. Wide green eyes traveled to the cupcakes and then toward the entryway. The voice came closer. Glancing down at her outfit, Hana made a split decision. With a silent prayer, she put on a worried face and rushed out the door.

The body she slammed into was tall and firm hands landed on her shoulders, "Woah, are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" Hana brought a hand up to her mouth and looked up at the boy. He was handsome; dark hair, sharp face, _and wearing a Kaijo uniform._ Her excuse tumbled out, "I'm just so lost! My friend wanted to ask Kise-kun for an autograph and we got separated. I can't find her anywhere! Have you seen him?"

"Kise?" If possible, a dark cloud grew over his head, "I haven't seen him yet."

"Oh…" Hana slumped her shoulders in dejection before peeking up at him with wide eyes, "I'm sorry for bumping into you… oh no, I don't remember your name?"

The boy seemed to puff up and his hand grabbed Hana's hand before kissing it, "Moriyama Yashitaka, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Mentally, she was screaming in displeasure, but her outside façade was different. Blushing, Hana gave Moriyama a smile, "You too! Are you in the basketball club?"

"Yes, my lady," He still hadn't let go of her hand, "Are you a fan?"

"I am!" Hana gushed back before sucking up her pride and grabbing his hand back, "I hate to ask this of you… but I'm terribly nervous about my friend. Would you sit with me until she comes back?"

Was that a pink bubble of sparkles behind him? Hana blinked as Moriyama gave her a dazzling smile before dragging her toward the gym, "I'll gladly entertain such a lovely lady as yourself."

"You're such a gentleman!" Hana cooed as he took her toward the bleachers. _Looks like I can get that present for Riko after all…_ As she sat down next to Moriyama, Hana beamed up at him, "If you don't mind, Moriyama-kun, I'd really like to hear about the basketball club! What position do you play?"

"I'm the shooting guard," He smiled up at the ceiling before turning the full effect back onto Hana, "I'd love to talk to you about basketball club, cute ladies such as yourself are the reason I play."

Scooting closer to him, Hana simpered, "Really? That's amazing! I'm sure you have tons of interesting stories! You must be really good!"

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Hana learned the names, positions, and personality traits of all the Kaijo team. She even learned a nifty tidbit about Moriyama himself. The boy had a special talent for shooting. It was similar to Aomine's formless shot, in the fact that it was hard to block, but instead, Moriyama threw the ball grandma style. Like actually _lobbed_ it through the air.

The conversation was going smoothly until the rest of Moriyama's team arrived. When she saw the grouping, Hana stopped breathing for a good ten seconds. She recognized the captain, Kasamatsu, but the rest she didn't know. They were making their way toward a still chattering Moriyama when Kasamatsu froze.

"H-hello," The captain's blue eyes were wide, "U-uhm, w-who are y-you?"

 _Okay, what_. Hana blinked at the suddenly shy captain before turning confused eyes to the rest of his team. They didn't _appear_ surprised, so she assumed this was normal. Now came the tricky part. Did she tell them her real name or did she lie? Considering her cover was about to be blown as soon as her team showed up, Hana settled for truth.

"Imamura Hana," She nodded her head with wide eyes, "I'm sorry am I disrupting?"

"It's fine," Moriyama turned to her and grabbed her hand, _again,_ "We have a practice game today, would you honor us by staying to watch?"

Well, her cover was five seconds away from being shot to shit. With a fake gasp, Hana brought her occupied hand up to her mouth, "I totally forgot! That's why my friend came here today!"

If people could blink simultaneously, that's what just happened. The tallest player was the one to speak first, "To watch our game?"

"Oh no," the smile Hana gave was innocent, "She's part of the other team!"

Moriyama twitched, "I'm sorry?"

"Huh?" Hana turned to him with a tilted head, "I didn't mention I go to Seirin?"

"But—You're wearing our uniform?!"

"Am I?" Her tone was dumb when she looked down at her shirt, "I just borrowed my boyfriend's shirt—"

Moriyama brought a hand to his heart in pain, "Boyfriend?!"

Unlike his teammate, Kasamatsu narrowed his eyes on her in suspicion. Hana recognized that look; that was the look that meant someone didn't believe her shit. Standing up, she brushed down her skirt in an imitation of modesty, "Yes, he's quite lovely. I should probably go find my friend now, I wouldn't want her to be concerned."

"W-ho's your f-friend?" Despite his blushing cheeks, Kasamatsu appeared to be serious.

"Aida Riko!" The simultaneous gawk was pretty funny and Hana had to smoother her smirk, "We've known each other for years!"

It seemed that information was enough to make the team's mouths useless and Hana took the opportunity to escape, "Well, it was wonderful to talk to you, Moriyama-kun! Good luck today!"

Moriyama was still gaping, "Good luck?"

Her mouth returned a quick, "Bye!" and then Hana was gone.

 _At least I got Riko a present!_

* * *

 _Run, run, run,_ Hana was racing down the maze of Kaijo's hallways. She knew the way to the entrance, but it seemed all the students here were _idiots._ No one would get out of her way! They just stood there and gawked at her while she ran around them. She was tempted to barrel into a few of them, but she'd waste precious time that way.

Darting down the last hallway, Hana sprinted into the glass covered entrance hall. The doors were opened and the outside world was calling her name. Twisting around a group of teenage boys, Hana made her escape into the open air. _Freedom!_

She would have done a happy dance if she didn't feel someone staring. Pausing in her happiness, Hana looked around the area. Turns out it wasn't just _someone_ staring, it was everyone. Her whole team was on the sidewalk at the bottom of the staircase, watching her. She waved.

"…Imamura?" Kagami frowned up at her, "What are you doing here? We looked for you!"

"I was visiting someone," Hana skipped down the steps, high off her revenge, "Why do you look like a drug addict?"

Kagami twitched and made a move toward her. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by Riko who got to her first, "Imamura-chan!" Hana was yanked into a headlock, "Don't do that!"

"Gah! _Riko!"_ Hana's hands frantically clawed at the coach's arm, "You're going to kill me!"

"Good! Don't run off like that without telling anyone!"

"I didn't run off! I've been here all morning- _Gah!"_ Hana choked when Riko's arm tightened, "I got you a present!"

"…" The arm loosened and Hana darted away. Riko eyed her while Hana urged her airways to work again, "What is it? Did you _steal_ something?!"

"No!" Hana put her arms on her knees and took a deep breath, "I got information on Kaijo—"

"Uhm," That was Koganei, "We probably shouldn't have this conversation right now…"

Pausing in her revival attempt, Hana blinked up at him, "Why?"

"Well-"

"Hi, Imamura-chan!" Hana's blood froze and she trailed her eyes to the one person she hadn't seen. _Kise._

"Hello," she stuttered. Kise's gold eyes were smiling in amusement and he stood by Kuroko who was watching her impassively. Her mind worked to come up with an excuse, "You heard nothing."

"If that's what you want~" Hana doubted he meant that, but she didn't voice her opinion. Kise moved away from Kuroko and came toward her, "I missed you! You weren't with everyone when I came to find them and I was worried you didn't come!"

"I came," she eyed him warily. She didn't really know how to go about this… giving Kise a chance sounded simple, but _actually_ doing it was proving difficult. Subtly taking a step back, Hana gave Kise a once over, "Why are you here?"

"Well," Kise's smile grew at the lack of insults, "The schools really big! I didn't want you guys to get lost!"

"…" Hana scowled at the unwelcomed reminder, "Damn right it is."

"Huh?" Kise blinked at her tone before his eyes trailed down to her neck, "You're still wearing my necklace!"

 _Remember, you can't hurt him,_ Hana twitched, _you can't kill people when you're giving them a chance._ Forcing a strained smile, Hana didn't rip his eyes out, "Yeah."

"I heard him say that yesterday…" Izuki muttered in the background, "If it's his necklace, why is she wearing it?"

Kuroko answered him, "It was a birthday present that Kise-kun no longer wanted."

"Wah!" Kise turned toward Kuroko in betrayal, "That makes me sound terrible! I had to! My manager didn't want me to wear it anymore!"

"Yeah, that's the story. Even if it's ridiculously farfetched," Hana drawled. Kise turned his melodramatics onto her, but Hana didn't apologize. Just because she was giving him a chance didn't mean he was free. He still had a lot of hoops to jump through if he wanted things to go back to normal.

"Imamura-chan!" Kise wailed and Hana quirked a brow in challenge. He took a step toward her, "I wasn't lying!"

In return, Hana deadpanned, "As a self-proclaimed liar, that's what they all say."

"…" Kise let out a sigh, but he did stop advancing toward her, "I didn't know it upset you—"

She cut him off, "It didn't."

Okay, so she still couldn't lie to him, but he didn't have to make such a big deal about it. At the end of her denial, Kise raised both of his eyebrows in disbelief and Hana barely stopped her snarl. Her haunches lifted in defense when he opened his mouth.

"If you say so," normally, that sentence was accompanied by a teasing remark, but Kise left it at that. His golden eyes landed on her uniform and Hana decided that was a good time to retreat. She didn't see Kise's frown as he traced her steps.

When she popped up next to him, Kagami scowled at her, "You did something."

"You're so suspicious," Hana's arms came up to cross over her chest, "I didn't do anything!"

"You're being dishonest," That was Kuroko and Hana had never hated him more _._ Not realizing the mortal danger he was in, the ghostly player continued, "You're also wearing the Kaijo uniform, Imamura-san."

"I borrowed it-"

"From who?" Kise's shoulders were tight, "That doesn't look like the girls' uniform…"

"Doesn't matter," Hana smiled back at everyone, but her eyes were pleading, "Shouldn't we head to the game now?" _I just want this tension to be done with._

"She's right," Hyuuga stepped forward and Hana didn't like the hard pat he gifted her shoulder, "Now that we've found Imamura, we can go."

 _Thank you!_ Hana tried to dart forward, but Hyuuga's hand tightened. When she looked up at him, the upperclassman was smiling. Hana recognized that smile, "We need to talk about these disrespectful habits of yours."

She should have known she wouldn't get off that easy, "But—"

"We've got plenty of time," Hyuuga urged her forward, " _Now, what did you do?"_

 _Oh shit._ Hana balked at his mood change, "Nothing!"

Meanwhile, the team walked past her, leaving Hana to her fate. Only the freshman gave her a parting glance, except for Kuroko and Kagami. Not even Kise interfered to save her. He just waved chirpily before rushing after Kuroko.

 _Traitors!_

* * *

When Hyuuga finally released Hana, she had a new respect for the captain. He could have been a reincarnated demon for all she knew. But anyway, he didn't take the news of Hana's self-imposed revenge well and was determined to have her apologize. Well, he would have if they hadn't walked into the gym.

Since Hana left, the Kaijo basketball team had separated the court down the middle. On one side, there were players practicing and on the other they had prepared for the practice game. Each one of her teammates was radiating tension and the worst one of them all was Riko. The coach was in a verbal spar off with Kaijo's coach.

"You're the coach," The large man looked bewildered, "You? You're not the manager?"

From the back ground, Hana raised a hand, "Nope. Hi, that's me."

The regulars of Kaijo's team turned toward her at the sound of her voice. Okay, Hana kind of felt bad for tricking them, but she didn't regret it. Not to mention, at their simultaneous glare, she really wanted to laugh out loud. _That's what you get for putting us on half court, anyway!_

Deciding to be a smart ass, she waved toward them as well, "Hi! Nice to see you again, Moriyama-kun!"

He didn't respond. Beside Hana, her team turned their eyes between herself and the other team. Kise did the same with a gaping mouth. His words were surprised, "You know them, Imamura-chan?"

"We met before the game," Hana smirked over at Kasamatsu. In response, his blue eyes narrowed on her, "Turns out wearing your school uniform makes a lot of people confused."

No one quite knew how to reply to that. Riko gave Hana an exasperated look before stepping forward and addressing the other coach, "I'm Aida Riko, the coach. We look forward to playing with you today."

Riko continued her questioning after turning toward the screened off court, "So… what's this?"

"Exactly what it looks like. We've made simple arrangements for today's game," The Kaijo coach turned away from Riko, "Despite this, you'll still be playing our regulars. I hope you won't let us triple your school."

"Hope we don't triple _your_ score," Hana muttered under her breath. A sharp elbow from Hyuuga shut her up. Meanwhile, Riko exploded. The blue flames that burst from her tiny body were enough to make a few players step back in caution.

"They don't think we're a challenge," Izuki was frowning beside her, "I haven't been this pissed in a while."

"They're treating this like a sideshow to their practice," Kagami had on his creepy smile. Hana liked to refer to it as the smile of a thousand psychopaths. Everyone else in the group echoed his sentiment.

"Just prove them wrong," with that, Hana turned back to the group with a smirk, "Besides, karma's a bitch."

Meanwhile, Kise was pulling his outwear off and stripping into his uniform. His coach came up beside him, "What are you doing? You can't play. It wouldn't be a game anymore with you on the court."

"Coach! Don't say that!" Kise's eyes widened and he flapped his hands around theatrically, "Seriously, don't say that!"

His coach dismissed him and Kise turned to the group with a regretful face. Hana didn't think it was honest, but she didn't have enough information to prove otherwise. Golden eyes were downcast when he apologized, "Sorry about that. But… I'll be on the bench. If you give his guys a beating he'll have to put me in!"

Then, his outer appearance changed completely, "Besides, you shouldn't go around saying you can beat the Generation of Miracles if you can't even do that."

"And we have serious Kise," Hana grumbled before pushing past the blonde, "Great. I hate serious Kise."

After a moment spent glaring at Kise, the rest of her team followed her to the dressing rooms. Behind her, Hana heard Kuroko give Kise one last comment. _You go Kuroko,_ Hana smirked as she walked toward the locker room, _show him who's boss!_

In the background, Hana heard Kise's coach question him, "How does she know where the locker room is?"

"I'm not sure-" the rest of Kise's response was lost when the door shut behind Hana's team.

Inside the dressing room, Hana was sitting on the bleacher and pouting as Riko scolded her. She had her back turned to the half-naked boys, but she could still hear the occasional chuckle at her predicament. Hyuuga had, _oh so helpfully,_ shared what Hana had done before the team arrived. It was safe to say, despite the jerkish actions of the other coach, that Riko didn't approve.

"Okay," Hana held her hands up in a pleading gesture, "let's look past the vandalism. I got you a present!"

"Imamura-chan!" Riko was glaring down at her and the blue flames from hell had come back, "You can get us disqualified! You can't do things like that!"

"Gotcha!" Hana leaned back from the coach's glare, "Next time I'll ask, promise!"

" _There won't be a next time-"_

"Okay!" at the increasing anger of her coach, Hana ducked her head, "Can I give you your present now?"

Riko continued to glare, but she accepted the subject change, "Yes."

"Thank you," Hana let out a deep sigh before retrieving her notes from her bra, "Here!"

"This—You had this in your bra the whole time?!"

At Riko's declaration the team let out shocked gawks, but Hana ignored them, "Yes, read it! It's all the information I could get from Moriyama… he's their shooting guard."

"What—" Riko trailed off as she read through Hana's chicken scratch, "This… you got all of _this_ from him?"

"It's not much, I know," she frowned down at her kicking feet, "He talked a lot, but he didn't want to share any of the important information. He was smarter than he looked."

"No…" Riko was still reading the paper, but now a dark smile had over taken her pretty face, "This helps a lot. Good job, Imamura-chan."

" _Really?"_ Hana blinked at the praise. Torio would have reamed her ass for not bringing back more. As soon as that thought came, Hana shook her head and forced herself to stand up, "I'm going to head out. I'll be out there when you guys are done."

Several minutes later, the two teams were lined up. Hana was sitting next to Riko on the bench with Furihata on her other side. Riko had her eyes narrowed in on Kaijo's team and her fingers were tapping against her knee nervously. Trailing her eyes away from her coach, Hana looked toward Kise. It came as a shock when he was looking back at her. _What I would give to read his mind…_

Meanwhile, the whistle blew and the teams shot into action; Kagami promptly over powered by Kaijo in the jump off. Kasamatsu got possession quickly and began to dribble down the court until magical ghost, Kuroko, slapped the ball out of his hands and raced toward the hoop before passing to Kagami who dunked it.

And ripped the damn thing off its hinges.

"Kagami," Hana brought her hands up to her face and began to laugh manically, "That was beautiful."

"Imamura-chan!" Riko scolded her before shooting up and running toward the coach to apologize. Hana didn't move, she just bent over further and laughed harder. She didn't see the three freshmen beside her exchange wary looks. Blinking through her tears, Hana looked up in time to see Kuroko ask to use the full court. _That wonderful little shit_.

It took a while, but the full court was cleared out and Seirin's team stood around waiting to play. Kuroko, Kagami, and Kise were participating in another testosterone contest and Hana didn't want a part of it. While the rest of the basketball players waited patiently, she made her way to the hoop lying on the floor. She was just picking it up when a voice spoke behind her.

"Please put it down, Imamura-san."

"Kuroko," Hana whined as she regretfully let go of the hoop, "It would have been a great souvenir."

"See, she's got the right idea," Kagami let out a laugh and Hana assumed he'd come forward with Kuroko, "That was awesome!"

"… Yes, please Kagami," Hana turned around and blinked up at him, "Please tell us how awesome it was. Let us soak in your glory. Maybe your holy presence will spread to us mere mortals?"

Well, that wiped the laughter off Kagami's face. The red head stomped toward her and Hana was lifted by her collar. Kagami growled as he hauled her away, "Loud mouthed brat."

Another few minutes later, and Hana being deposited on the bleachers, the whistle blew again and they lined up for a second time. This time Hana was sitting on the floor in front of Riko. Her clipboard was spread out between her knees and she frowned at the court. _Kise looks serious… Seriously serious Kise._

Hana stopped moving at that thought, _stupid Izuki._

"He's a monster," Riko whispered under her breath and Hana blinked up at her. The coach was staring at Kise and Hana had to agree with the observation.

"This is just Kise," Hana added her own input, "He's strong, but the others are even crazier."

"Is that even possible?!" Furihata sounded scared and Hana looked over at the shaking freshman, "How can we ever face people like that?! Kise beat Kagami so easily!"

Hana didn't reply to him. She didn't have an answer worth sharing.

Meanwhile, Kise was waving toward his fangirls. The action caused Hana to roll her eyes. He looked like an idiot. _Not to mention,_ _he'll be regretting that when the text messages start pouring in._ She was tempted to tell him herself, but Kise was suddenly kicked to the floor by an angry Kasamatsu.

Hana tilted her head, "I like him."

She liked him even more when he punched Kise again.

The game began for the second time with a bang. Kise dunked the ball even harder than Kagami, scoring two points for Kaijo. Then Kuroko stole the ball and Seirin received their own two points in return. For a while, the game continued in the same give and take pattern. Until it _didn't_. One minute the pace was manageable. The next it was super speed play.

"Holy shit," Hana breathed when Kise blocked Kagami's dunk, "He needs to chill out- Kise can copy the pace Kagami's going at."

"What?" Riko looked toward her sharply, "What do you mean?"

"You know Kise is a copycat," Hana nodded her head to the court, "Everything Kagami does, Kise does. If Kagami goes hard, Kise goes hard."

"That's—" Furihata and Fuduka gasped together, "That's why they're playing so crazy?"

"Yeah," Hana snorted as she watched the game, "It's annoying as shit. Honestly, you can't even explain it. It should be physically impossible, but no. Stupid miracles and their stupid super powers."

She didn't see the freshmen sweat drop at her statement, but she did see Riko go request a timeout. The whistle blew again and the players on court came to the sidelines. Deciding to be a nice manager, Hana went to go retrieve the water bottles. When she returned, the team was huddled together in a meeting. Hana stood in the back and listened after handing a bottle to Mitobe.

"He has a weakness," Kuroko corrected himself moments later, "My apologies, I'm actually not even sure it could be called a weakness. There is also another problem," he paused and looked out at the court, "It seems my misdirection is wearing off."

"What?" The team gawked. Hana remained silent, but her hands tightened on the last water bottle in thought.

"Why didn't you tell us!?" That was a pissed Riko who was now advancing toward Kuroko, "Do you not do anything unless you're told?!"

While this was going on, Hana padded toward Kagami and sat beside him on the bleacher. The redhead was watching Riko, but he turned to Hana when she handed him a water. Her green eyes made contact with his red and Hana smirked, "That could be considered a good thing though."

"What are you talking about?" Kagami frowned down at her. Around them, the rest of the team gaped when Riko pulled Kuroko into a chokehold.

She heard Kuroko choking in the background, but paid it no mind when she continued, "It means even the Miracles have weaknesses."

The time out was over shortly afterwards and the team went back out. Riko gave her parting orders and Kagami was sent back onto Kise. The game started up like before, but this time Seirin had a serious disadvantage. Kise must have shared Kuroko's weakness with his own team. It was so bad even Moriyama was able to block Kuroko's receiving pass.

The whistle rang when Kaijo got possession of the ball and Kise addressed Kagami during the break. She couldn't hear what the blonde said, other than a quick dig at Kagami's skill. Kise's expression was an odd mix of sympathy and condescension. _He's like a different guy. That ego, man._

Hana was distracted from her thoughts by Kagami's laugh, "Sorry. Sorry. I'm just happy. I didn't think I'd face someone strong away from America. So, hearing you say something like that is encouraging! There's no point playing if I can't face someone strong," he brought a fist up, "It's better if I can't win."

While everyone else stared at Kagami in shock, Hana deadpanned. _Crazy red head syndrome… is there a word for that?_ Then Kagami grabbed a hold of Kuroko's head and shouted, "Besides, now I know your weakness. This guy's your weakness!"

Kise scowled at Kagami, "So what?"

"… That's actually smart," Hana inputted from her spot on the floor. Seeing Kuroko's annoyed expression, she smirked, "Kick his ass, Kagami-sama!"

Kagami turned to her with a blank look which Kuroko repeated, "Shut up, Imamura."

"Just keeping things interesting," Hana held her hands up, "Continue with your montage."

Behind him, Kise's eyes were narrowed on the redhead and his golden eyes flicked from Kuroko to Kagami in contemplation. That wasn't quite the weakness Hana had thought of, but it would definitely work. _I think,_ she corrected mentally, _he's going off the fact that Kise can't copy what he can't see… right?_

Second quarter ended moments later with Seirin holding the losing score of 27 to 35. While Riko chatted about the next quarters game plans, Hana sat on the floor with her face in her hands. Her eyes traveled across the court and she stared at Kise. The blonde was solemn. There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his face. _That's not a good look._

Her thoughts were proven correct when the game started again. While Kagami and Kuroko were perfecting their coordination with one another, Kise was working stronger. Even though Seirin's score was improving, Hana didn't trust it yet. _Kise might only be one miracle… but they can do a lot of damage even on their own._

While Kuroko, Kise and Kagami got into another conversation, Hana turned toward Riko. Poking the coach in the leg, she mentioned her concerns, "Don't get comfortable."

"Huh?" Riko blinked down at her, "What do you mean, Imamura-chan?"

"He's going to start feeling cornered soon," Hana nodded her head toward Kise, "When that happens, be prepared for the game to go up a notch."

She remembered Kise's involvement at her team's match back in second year. When he was ganged up on by the other teammates, his playing strength had increased vividly. If what she could see was correct, he was bound to start feeling and playing like that soon.

She didn't notice the sharp look Riko gave her before the coach was turning back to the game.

When the game continued, Hana tugged her lip into her mouth as she watched. Kuroko had taken on Kise and covered him man to man style. It was a literal face off between miracles. _One for the history books._ Shortly afterwards, Kise lost the ball to Kuroko's offense and Seirin scored again. Another possession change and her mouth gaped open when Kagami blocked Kise's three pointer.

"Damn," Hana whistled under her breath, "That was- Kuroko!"

While she was talking, Kise had tried to get out of the tight defense and jolted his elbow back. It was the same spot Kuroko was standing and the blue haired boy was sent stumbling backward. When he lifted his head, Hana balked at the blood dripping into his eye.

Her teammates echoed her shock, "Kuroko!"

Shooting up from her position, Hana stepped onto the court. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she was going to do something. That was proven correct when Kuroko toppled over. Darting onto the court, Hana pushed Kagami forward, "Do something you lump. Help me get him to the sidelines."

"I'm working on it!" Kagami growled as he lifted Kuroko onto his shoulder, "Do you have a first aid kit?"

"No," Hana grabbed Kuroko's other arm, "Riko sent someone to go get one, I think Furihata went."

"Shit," Kagami hissed as they made their way toward the sideline, "What the hell are we going to do now?"

Letting out a humorless chuckle, Hana directed Kuroko to the cot someone had laid out, "I'm going to get Kuroko patched up and you," her voice dropped down an octave, "You're going to go out there and kick Kise's ass."

While Riko wrapped up Kuroko's head, Hana moved toward his feet and removed his shoes. Kagami was still standing to the side dumbly and she shot him a dark look, "Now's a good time for you to get pumped, Kagami."

His red eyes moved away from Kuroko to frown at her, "He'll be alright, right?"

"Don't know," Hana shrugged as she made her way toward the bleachers beside Kuroko's head, "My experience with head wounds is shit zero, so hopefully Riko's got this."

"…" Kagami's face was hilariously red, "You're supposed to agree!"

"Shut up and go talk to Riko," Hana waved her hand at Kagami, "Go destroy someone."

"Gotcha," and with that Kagami was joining the other teammates. Hana heard Kagami beg to be put back on Kise and Riko allow it. The team went back to the court.

Remaining where she was, Hana got a water bottle and poured a bit of the water onto a sweat towel. She laid it across Kuroko's head with a frown. _This is weird…_ she poked at the blue haired boy's nose, _you're supposed to be out there being a little shit._

"Just saying," Hana started talking to Kuroko's resting body to pass the time, "That was kind of a dick move on Kise's part. I know he didn't mean to do it, but he still needs to be punished. I'll take your silence as agreement."

She didn't see the first years scooting away from her in terror.

With a soft sigh, Hana turned toward the game again. Kagami was guarding Kise and the second years focused on offensive play. The upperclassmen were working hard and Hana was startled with the flash of pride she felt. _I'm a part of this,_ she frowned at that thought, _but they aren't my team. Will I grow the same bond with these guys too?_

Unfortunately, during her thoughts, the seniors couldn't keep up and the score gap grew in Kaijo's favor.

"If only we had Kuroko-kun…" Riko's words distracted Hana from her observations.

"Good morning," Kuroko pushed himself of the bed. With a shriek, Hana jolted backwards and almost fell of the bleacher. _Forget being a ghost! That was just like Frankenstein!_ Maybe Riko's a necromancer? Hana wouldn't doubt it.

Riko gaped, "What are you doing?! You need to rest!"

Hana was still trying to get over her shock when Kuroko convinced Riko to let him back into the game. Frankly, Hana wanted to disagree with the decision, but this was Kuroko's chance to show Kise the error of his ways and she wouldn't interrupt that. _This is his revenge._

Kuroko came back onto the court and the score gap shrunk. With a shot, Hyuuga tied the score 82 to 82.

That's when Kise did what Hana had been worried he'd do. His golden eyes turned into a diluted shade of amber and his face blanked over. His following words chilled Hana to the bone, "I won't lose. Not even to you Kuroko-cchi."

When the game started again it was like Kise could float through air as he raced down the court and got another goal. The score shot up while Kise displayed his true miracle status, leaving Kagami and Kuroko to keep up with the intense play. Everyone, Kaijo and Seirin alike, were sweating and showing signs of fatigue.

Glancing from the timer to the court, Hana's fists clenched. _91 to 92_. _The clocks ticking guys…_ With each second that passed, the atmosphere got more and more intense. Her eyes focused on Hyuuga dribbling down the court, _you can do it!_

By this point, Hana had chewed through her lip. Riko was standing tall with taunt shoulders and the timer continued to tick down on them. The freshmen were leaning out of their chairs, eyes wide as they waited for the final verdict. _Eight more seconds._

With one last pass from Hyuuga, the miracles faced off for the final time. Kuroko shot the ball. Kagami jumped, grabbing the ball and slamming it in. The buzzer went off just as the ball was pounded in. _100- 98!_

"Hell yes!" Hana jumped up with a scream, "You crazy monkey! You did it!"

All around her, Seirin broke out into applause. While the rest of them team rushed out to congratulate them, Kagami threw a fist up, "Alright!"

Even Kuroko was smiling as he panted for air.

Unfortunately, while the Seirin team was celebrating, the Kaijo team wasn't. Kasmatsu had a hand over his eyes and the rest of his players were in similar states of disbelief. But that wasn't who Hana was focused on. Her eyes trailed over to Kise and her blood froze at the tears leaking down his cheeks. Her body wouldn't move toward him though. She didn't have to words to comfort him.

Which turned out to be a good thing when Kasamatsu kicked him in the back, "Stop crying. You better get up and add the word revenge to that empty dictionary of yours!"

 _I really do like that guy,_ Hana smiled at the effect the captain brought onto Kise. The blond straightened up and gave his captain a nod. While the two teams lined up for congratulations, Hana didn't take her eyes off Kise. It was time to fix their friendship. _Somehow._

As her team walked out of the gym, Hana ducked off from the group to follow after the blond. She hadn't seen where he went, but she'd find him.

Hopefully they didn't leave without her.

* * *

Hana found Kise outside. The blonde was bent over the water fountain, splashing it into his face. His cheeks were still stained red by over exertion and Hana skirted around his back. Leaning her arms on the front of the fountain, she watched him for a moment. He still hadn't noticed her, which was a good thing. It allowed her to get her thoughts in order.

"You know," Kise's head jerked up at the sound of her voice, "Humility is a good look on you."

Kise gaped up at her and Hana focused on the water droplets dripping off his hair, "Imamura-chan?"

"Yeah," she pushed herself off her perch, "You played really good out there today. Despite the loss and all, you've gotten a lot stronger."

Kise frowned down at the metal bowl before replying, "That was the first time I lost… Is it supposed to feel this way?"

"Like a hole in your chest?" Hana traced her eyes to the sky, "Yeah. Sucks, huh? Maybe now you understand."

"Understand?" His gold eyes widened in bewilderment, "What do you mean?"

 _Or maybe he doesn't understand…_ Her mouth twisted into a firm line and she felt a smidgen of indignation, "You said you missed me, right?"

"I did…"

Her mouth began to move before Hana could remember her original purpose of coming, "Do you ever think about why I left? Why I said those things to you?"

"Yeah," Kise's eyes began unfocused and Hana assumed he was lost in his memories, "We all just thought—we thought it was because Akashi-cchi used your information—"

"Nah," Hana's resulting chuckle was chilled, "I mean, I don't really _care_ when people use my information as long as I let them. I mean, someone's got to, right? It was what you guys did with it that put the nail in the coffin."

By now, Kise had straightened up. His eyes were laser focused on her, "What do you mean?"

"You were disgusting in middle school," Hana didn't stop at Kise's flinch, "You played with your opponents and you _hurt_ them. You know how you feel right now? Imagine if Kagami had _taunted_ you, imagine if he'd _ridiculed_ you."

"Wha?" Kise had frozen at her words, "What are you- what?"

"You guys did that," Hana explained at his confusion, "You broke people. You might not have meant to, but you all did."

"We didn't!" Kise argued back, "It's only a game!"

" _Really?_ Is that how you feel right now?" Hana's voice rose as she challenged him, "Like it's just a game?"

His mouth gaped open and a scowl was working its way onto his face, "No—"

She cut him off, "Exactly."

"But, what does that have to do—" Kise tried to grasp onto her wavelength.

"That's why I left. Call me selfish all you want, but you guys included me in that shit," Hana turned her back to the blond, "I may be a bitch, whatever you like to label me behind my back, but you guys -," she cut herself off. _I'm going too far._

"I'm…" she couldn't see his face, but she heard Kise's voice lower, "I get it."

Shoulders losing a bit of tension, Hana turned back around and locked eyes with Kise, "Do you really?"

"… I think so," He lowered his eyes. For a moment, Hana felt like the biggest bitch on earth, but it had to be said. If he ever wanted her friendship back, he had to understand. Kise looked back up before he continued, "Do you think that's why Kuroko-cchi left?"

"I can't talk for him," Hana shrugged softly, "It's not my place. Anyway, I want to say I'm sorry for saying this shit, but I'm not."

"I kind of wish you hadn't," Kise let out a soft laugh, "I wanted to understand why you left… but I wasn't prepared for all of that."

"Yeah," Hana amended. Her stomach felt heavy with dredges of guilt, "I could have done that at a better time… sorry for that at least. It's was wrong of me to dump all this on you after our game."

The silence grew around them and Hana was mentally punching herself in the face. She'd gone too far. She hadn't meant for all those words to tumble out, but they had and there was no going back now. She watched Kise let out a exhausted sigh and almost opened her mouth to apologize again, but he beat her to it.

"Don't apologize," Kise sighed before ruffling his hair, "Though, sometimes you're too honest Imamura-chan."

"I know," Hana let out a heavy huff, "I actually came out here to check on you and look at me, being a bitch," she gave him a guilty smile, "Well since I got most of my anger out of my system, I might as well give you a warning. Don't eat the cupcakes."

The silence came back and Kise peered down at her. His face was painted in confusion, but she could see the traces of tension still underlying his eyes, "Cupcakes?"

"…" Hana blinked. She thought he would have found them by now, "You know? The ones in the locker room?"

"Imamura-chan, there weren't any cupcakes."

"Oh," Hana thought of that statement before paling, " _Oh_. Oh shit."

At her words, Kise frowned at her. Memories of faulty pranks back in middle school came flooding back to him, "What'd you do, Imamura-chan?"

"Uhm," Hana took a step back. This wasn't going to be easy to explain, "Well, my original revenge plan involved wasabi cupcakes and something else…"

"Wasabi?!" Kise gawked. His face pinched in disgust, "Why would you do that?! What else did you do?!"

"…" Hana backed away further before sharing the final kicker, "I may have shared your phone number with the bathroom stalls."

"What!" Oh man, she was in for it. Kise did _not_ look happy. His eyes were narrowed in on her and his mouth was gaping open when the blond moved toward her, "Why would you do that!"

Hana took another step back from him, "Revenge?"

"That's so mean, Imamura-chan!" Kise waved his arms around dramatically, but Hana could tell he was serious in his words, "I'm going to have to change my phone number! Why would you do something so evil?! Is that why my phone kept ringing?!"

She blushed at the accusation, " _Maybe."_

Kise took a deep breath before blowing it out his nose. He still didn't look happy and Hana couldn't quite blame him. _I may have gone a bit overboard…_ his eyes traveled to the floor and Hana amended her statement. _Okay, a lot overboard. Shit._ When Kise looked back up to her, he still looked angry, but now there was a sly undertone.

"You know, I'm pretty mad at you. That wasn't nice at all," Kise's smile was sharp, "But now you owe me. And since were friends again~"

"I'm not sure friendship is the right word," Kise gave her a look and Hana backpedaled, "Okay, sure. Totally friends."

"Anyway," Kise was smirking in a way Hana didn't like, it always spelled trouble, "Since we're _friends,_ you owe me two favors now. I never used my last one."

 _God dammit._ Bringing a hand up to her neck, Hana grimaced, "Can we not do this?"

"Nope," He didn't look as angry anymore, so Hana considered that an improvement. He continued a little bit later, "You really owe me after that last stunt."

"Kise—" Hana tried to get him to understand, "We literally _just_ rebuilt any type of friendship. Besides, aren't you mad at me?"

"Which is why you owe me~" Kise sung out, "Because that was really mean for you to do! Especially to your friend!"

"That's illogical," Hana deadpanned, "We weren't friends yet."

She could tell Kise was about to respond by the way his chest puffed out, but someone else interrupted him. Hana hadn't expected to see this person in a million years, but there they were. A grumpy Cancer, speaking condescendingly right behind them. _Do they have like magic locating abilities? A built-in miracle detector?_

"Kise," Midorima's voice sounded sharp and Hana felt her body clench up, "… Imamura."

Startled, Kise lifted his head up and turned toward Mirdorima, "Midorima-cchi? What are you doing here?"

"I came to watch your game against Kuroko. It was unfortunate," Hana heard the green haired boy scoff, "But it was no wonder you lost, Gemini's rank last today. Even a monkey could make those dunks."

"Wait," Hana turned her head toward the speaker. Her breath almost stopped when she looked at Midorima for the first time in months, "How long where you there?"

"The last quarter," Midorima's eyes flashed when he looked at her, "Furthermore, you're both clueless when you speak. Anyone could have heard you."

Kise's face twitched before he pulled a strained smile, "I haven't seen you since middle school. This is a surprise."

"Clueless," Hana muttered under her breath. He sounded so arrogant right now. While the shooter had never been the nicest person, Hana wasn't used to this new personality trait. Midorima was lucky she had taken most of her anger out on Kise, "You know, it's rude to ease drop Midorima."

For a moment, Midorima didn't reply and Hana wonder how much of their conversation he'd heard. When he did reply, his tongue was sharp, "Your views are foolish. Our opponents were nothing but a distraction to our ultimate win."

"Midorima-cchi," Kise tried to caution, but Hana stopped him by ducking past his body. She stood to the side a bit before letting out a soft sigh. Her anger wanted to resurface, but at Midorima's words, she couldn't find any emotion other than defeat. _I should have known not all of them would understand._

"If that's what you think," Hana flicked her green eyes up to Midorima's own, "That's fine. You tend to think of everyone below you as a _distraction,_ anyway."

Midorima's eyes narrowed, "What are you referring to?"

"Nothing important," she tried to smirk, but it fell flat, "Just restating your opinion. I've heard it once before, is all."

If she thought the tension with Kise was thick, it was nothing compared to this. Midorima had always been stern, but she was used to blushing cheeks and stuttering. Not this. Not those narrowed eyes and patronizing statements. She heard Kise shuffle awkwardly behind her, but Hana didn't take her eyes away from Midorima.

"… Imamura," She watched his green eyebrows furrow when he understood her backhanded comment, "What are you doing here?"

This time, Hana was able to force a smirk, "Why do you guys keep asking that? Did you think I stopped existing just because I left?"

Midorima's glasses flashed again, but he wasn't able to reply before Kise beat him to it, "She's Kuroko-cchi's manager!"

"What?" Midorima looked taken aback. It was a bit amusing, but Hana wasn't in the correct state to appreciate it. His mouth was turned down at the edges, "No one heard about that—"

"Kind of the point," Hana cut him off with an eye roll before walking forward. She didn't have enough energy for Midorima's grumpiness. Besides, she needed to find her teammates before they left without her. When she passed Midorima, she turned around and gave Kise a wave, "See you, Kise."

"Bye, Imamura-chan," Kise gave her a smile, but there was still a hint of _something_ on his face.

"…" ignoring it, Hana turned to Midorima, "Bye to you, too."

"Goodbye," Midorima's eyes had turned back into narrowed slits, "You've changed."

"I've heard," Hana let out a snort, "At least it was in a good way, unlike you."

Midorima didn't reply and Hana continued to stalk forward. Her heart was beating out of chest, but she wouldn't give Midorima the satisfaction of knowing he unnerved her. Walking down the sidewalk, her mind replayed the event and Hana couldn't stop her wince. That hadn't gone to plan… _at all._ Only a few more steps and she turned the corner, vanishing from sight.

Back by the water fountains, Midorima turned his eyes away from Hana's disappearing back to Kise. The bespeckled teen pushed up his glasses before issuing his warning, "Akashi isn't going to be pleased."

"Yeah," Kise's voice was solemn, "But Momoi-cchi went to the same school as Aomine-cchi, so it should be okay, right?"

"There's a difference. Momoi knows not to meddle. She has also never disregarded Akashi's orders."

* * *

 _ **Reviews: (by the way I love you guest reviewers even if I don't have a name to reply to you by)**_

 **030artastic : Haha! Thank you!**

 **Baemaxxy : Oh! Sounds interesting, thank you for your review!**

 **Sapphire : Thank you!**

 **Crystalviolet24 : I'm glad you were smiling! Sorry if you felt pity, it probably got worse with this chapter. Unfortunately, Hana is kind of a rough character and she isn't always nice. And yes, he is a love interest! I'm trying to make all of them possible interests, but feel free to ship away! And yes, Kagami! He's fun to write. Thank you for another great review!**

 **ADDbaby : Thank you! I'm glad you were excited! And that was a hilarious mental picture. And yes, Kagami is going to be abused, but he'll give it back just as good haha! **

**Arrah : This is true, haha. Thank you!**

 **Silver Hydrandgea: She is definintly not affaird to say what needs to be said… opps haha. Anyway, thank you! I'm glad to hear you felt so emotional during it! And I try to update once a week, if not more. It may slow down once school starts again though. Thank you!**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuch : Ah! Thank you! Yeah, I felt bad for Kise too. Even more so now, but Hana has a mind of her own. Thank you again!**

 **NinijaPenguinLover : I'm glad to hear I kept him in character! And thank you!**

 **Yukimi Himenou : Ahhh! Thank you times double! I'm so glad you like Hana! And they will suffer… a good bit. Anyway, thank you again!**

 **Amgs : Thank you! Happy late new years to you too!**

 **Nailyu : Yes, Kise! Thank you for another great review!**

 **FrizzleChicken : Thank you! And I'm excited for Kagami and Hana to bond too! They'll have lots of future interactions! Another great review, they always make me smile!**

 **ArchimedesAckermann : Yeah, she can get pretty vicious. Probably wouldn't be the type of person you'd want to piss off, hahah! And I think he does, in his own way. There isn't much romantic development right now between any of them, but it'll change slowly. Anyway, thank you! **

**JeyaMendoza : Thank you! Also thanks for helping again with this chapter! I'm also glad to hear I surprised you! I love being able to do that. Thank you for another wonderful review! I love them a lot!**

 **Red Raspberries : Ah, thank youuu! I'm so happy to hear it went above your expectations! That makes me smile like a loon. **

**Animegal1998 : Hahah, thank you! There will be more Kasamatsu interaction sooner or later! **

**Volley-14-nerd : Yes! Revenge! Thank you!**

 **RockaRosalie : I'm glad you were happy! Thank you! **

**AngelicHallow s: I'm glad she makes you laugh, I love to hear that. And I'm soooo happy you aren't bored with the canon plot. That's one of my biggest worries, as I'm sure you've noticed. I also went back and fixed that error, so thank you for pointing it out! Another marvelous review, the gratitude is over following from me! **


	25. Chapter 25

***groans* I'm so tired people. AP Bio is kicking my behind and I've had the worst case of writers block _ever_. Anyway! New chapter of mostly fluffiness to make up for all the angst I've shoved down your throats lately. I don't like it, but I'm hoping I'm just being self-depreciating. Enjoy your fluff! It's also kind of dialogue heavy... sorry? Also, thank you to all these new followers and favorites! I'm still in shock I've surpassed a hundred. Not to mention you guys who _review!_ You wonderful people of beautiful things! Thank you for all those great comments! **

**Warnings : Bad language, violence, pretty down right awful editing.**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke_**

* * *

Final Friendships

Nothing went to plan anymore. Hana was tempted to just give up trying to make sense of her life. Sure, she found her team, but she hadn't expected this. She didn't even _like_ steak. Poking at the massive slice in front of her, Hana trailed her eyes over the rest of the team. They appeared to be in the same state of disgust. Except for the person beside her, _Kagami._ That goddamn monster. He was shoveling the steak into his mouth like a hunger starved bear.

"Glutton."

Kagami paused and looked over at her, "What'd you say?"

" _Glutton."_

And face, meet table. You know, she should be used to this by now. But no, she still wanted to stab him in the leg with her fork. Her hand twitched toward it, but Kagami _graciously_ removed his hand before she had the chance. The culprit was biting into another bite of steak with a smirk when she lifted her head back up.

Rubbing her now sore forehead, Hana's voice was tinged in sarcasm, "When I said you'd be my bodyguard, that meant protect me. Not injure me at every given chance."

"Well," Kagami swallowed a huge lump of steak, "Good thing I'm not."

"You'll come to your senses sooner or later," she pushed her plate toward Kagami, "In the meantime, consider this a down payment."

His cheeks were stuffed out comically when he looked at her, "You don't want it?"

Staring at him, Hana deadpanned, "It seems I've lost my appetite. I wonder why."

"Thanks," another huge swallow, "So what's up with you and pretty boy?"

 _Okay, his blunt honesty is kind of a pain. Is this how people feel about me?_ Hana scowled down at the worn-out table, "What do you mean?"

Kagami snorted, "You've got a weird way to flirt—"

" _I wasn't flirting!"_

"Sure," he waved his fork toward her, "What was all that then? His necklace?"

"…" Hana fell silent at that. Did she really want to talk to Kagami about this? _No, but I should._ Green eyes peered at the redhead in consideration, "I gave it to him second year, you know, for his birthday. I'm just keeping it safe until- Don't look at me like that, Kagami!"

"I didn't say anything!" He stabbed the steak again, "You're just more sentimental than I thought you'd be. It's weird."

"I guess," Hana shrugged, "It was in the past, anyway. On a happier note, I got my revenge…"

Kagami paused in his attack on the food, "What are you talking about?"

"Well… Kise's fan girls have a lot to be thankful for."

Kagami gagged as he choked on his food, "You didn't!"

Daintily folding her hands in front of her, Hana smiled back, "I did. He was pretty pissed, but I'm satisfied."

His hand landed on top of her head and seconds later her hair was being tussled, "You're evil."

"You know," Hana nudged his shoulder innocently, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you _liked_ me."

As soon as her sentence ended, her face met the table. Again.

After the steak challenge from hell, the team was all ready to go. Well, they would be. If they weren't missing a vital part of said team. When everyone noticed that Kuroko had pulled a disappearing act, Riko ordered him to be found or else they couldn't leave. Despite Kuroko being her friend, Hana was tempted to leave him behind. _He's the one that slunk off,_ she pouted as followed Kagami, _he could find his own way home._

Instead of joining the second years in their search, Hana had followed the redhead. Kagami had a Kuroko sensor or something. Whenever he went, Kuroko appeared and Hana figured it be the quickest way to get home. If only the tall boy would stop _walking so damn fast!_

"Can you carry me?"

"No," Kagami didn't even look back, "Hurry up or I'm leaving you behind."

"Riko wouldn't let you," Hana sung out, but she hurried her steps anyway, "You'd just have to go and find me too!"

"Doubt it," Kagami snorted. He generously waited for her to catch up before replying, "I bet she's still pissed about that stunt you pulled on the Kaijo team."

Hana rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up, you know it was funny. Besides, the information will come in handy later!"

"They looked like they wanted to kill you."

"A lot of people do," Hana skipped a few feet ahead, "But did you see their coaches face? He was _pissed_ that we beat them _."_

At that, Kagami smirked, "Yeah. Serves him right."

"I wish we could have kept that hoop," her voice trailed off into a sigh, "It would have made an awesome decoration."

"You're an idiot."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"I swear," Kagami grunted before pushing his feet faster, "You're like a five-year-old."

"I take offense," Hana retorted, "If anything, I'm a ten-year-old."

"That doesn't make it any better."

"At least I'm not an adrenaline junkie, like you."

"No, you're just a whiny brat and that was a terrible comeback."

"No, you're just a whiny brat," Hana mocked him behind his back, "Sounds like you're the one whining."

" _Imamura,"_ Kagami growled and Hana had enough common sense to remain out of grabbing distance, "You stupid-"

Hana was about to respond when she saw people talking on the opposite side of the basketball court they were passing by. The heads of blond and blue hair informed her of who they were. Darting ahead, she grabbed the back of Kagami's shirt and yanked him to a stop, "Look!"

"The hell! Let go of me!" Kagami tried to turn around and remove her hands, "Don't grab me like that!"

"Shut up," Hana bopped him on the shoulder, "Use your eyes for once!"

"What are you-" He cut himself off when he followed her directions, "Is that Kise?"

"Your observational skills continue to astound me," Hana deadpanned. She let go of Kagami's shirt to peek her head around the conveniently placed metal fence, "Yeah, he's talking to Kuroko."

"So, that's where he went off too," Kagami muttered under his breath before joining Hana at her hiding place, "What are they saying?"

"If I could hear over the sound of your voice, I'd tell you."

She heard Kagami rumble before her head was pushed down again. While she struggled to get out of his hold, Kagami stuck his head around further. The words were lost to Hana, but whatever Kagami heard or saw seemed to piss him off. One second she was being manhandled, the next Kagami had removed his hand and began to stomp toward the miracle duo.

"Kagami!" Hana hissed after him, "Do you know the definition of the word subtle?!"

He didn't stop at the sound of her voice and Hana let out a loud groan. _Stupid hothead! Impulsive! Idiotic! Ignoramus!_ Her insults continued to grow in pitch as she forced her feet to follow after him. When she showed up, Kagami had a hand on top of Kuroko's head and was smirking at an annoyed Kise.

"Were you ease-dropping?" Kise voice was tight and his eyes reflected his tension. Hana decided it would be a good time to interrupt. You know, before the inevitable show off began again.

"Kagami," Hana grumbled as she marched up beside the redhead. Her elbow jammed into his ribs, "You can't just rush into everything. That's like, rule number one."

"I don't care about your rules, Imamura," Kagami griped back at her, a hand prodding at his now sore side. He gave her a glare before turning back to Kise, "I sure as hell was. Why'd you kidnap, Kuroko?!"

"Imamura-chan?" Ignoring Kagami, Kise blinked down at her before his face transformed into a smile, "I didn't think I'd see you so soon."

Kagami gawked in the background, "Are you ignoring me?!"

"Hey, Kise," Hana responded. She heard Kagami growl and she smirked when she replied, "Sorry for interrupting your moment with Kuroko. Blame the hothead."

" _Imamura!"_ Kagami's voice got louder and Hana heard his feet advancing toward her. Well, time for her to retreat. Ducking under Kagami's hand, she made her way toward Kuroko. Or, she would have. Except Kuroko was gone.

While Kagami and Kise began to talk, Hana swung her head around to look for Kuroko. They literally _just_ found him. If he wandered off again, Hana was going to murder him. Painfully. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned her surroundings. _Not by the trashcan, not by the bench, not in the bushes…_ She turned behind her to look at the basketball court, _found the little shit._

Even though she found him, he wasn't in the best situation. Kuroko was standing in front of two streetball players with both towering over him by a good foot. Hana blinked. Then she turned her eyes onto the still arguing Kise and Kagami. Blinked again. Turned back to Kuroko. _Why do I do this?_

"Stupid," Hana hissed as she advanced toward the gate. Flinging it open, she prowled toward Kuroko, "I swear you lost a few brain cells with that hit."

When she made her way to them, Kuroko had just spun the ball against the streetballer's nose. In any other situation, Hana would have laughed, but this wasn't the time. The guy reacted right away and jolted backwards with a yell. Kuroko remained unfazed and another player stepped up and grabbed the ghost by the collar. _Well_ , Hana reached a hand up and pulled her hair out of her pony tail, _time to intervene._ _Again._

"Oniisan?" Hana walked up to Kuroko with a frown, "What are you doing?"

When he was put back down, Kuroko turned to her with a frown, "Imamur-"

Hana cut him off and turned to the other boys, "Are you being mean to my brother? That's not very nice!"

"Huh," The boy Kuroko had first stood off against let out a chuckle, "Looks like little sister's protective. Don't worry," He came toward her and squatted down, "We just wanted to play a game with your brother."

"Oh," Hana pouted at him, "But—you just grabbed him! I saw you!"

"It's alright, sweetheart," This time it was the player that had grabbed Kuroko by his collar, "We just got a bit excited. Say," the boy looked toward his leader, "How about you play with us?"

At the boy's words, Kuroko moved closer to Hana. His shoulder graced her own and Hana took it as a silent warning. Which she promptly ignored, "Really? But I'm not very good…"

"That's alright," The leader stood up from his squatted position, "You can play on our team. I'm sure big brother doesn't mind, right?"

"Huh?" Hana turned her eyes onto Kuroko. They were pleading with a silent message he couldn't understand, "Is that okay?"

"I don't think this is a good idea," Kuroko deadpanned. He was about to continue his train of thought, but a large hand landed on top of his head. While Kuroko stopped talking, Hana trailed her eyes up to the two new comers. Kagami scowled at her and Kise wore a sharp smile. _Great_.

"Mind if we play, too?" Kise smirked at the street ballers. At the end of his sentence, his eyes traveled over to Hana and she didn't appreciate the chiding look he gave her. _Honestly, does no one understand the art of sabotage?_

"Why'd you get involved, bastard?" After rebuking Kuroko, Kagami glared at her, "And you! The hell are you thinking?"

"But…" Hana gave Kagami her patented puppy dog eyes, "It looks like fun! Besides, the nice guy said I could play with him! You guy's never let me play with you all."

"Imamura-chan," Kise was still smiling, but she could tell he was seconds away from calling her fib out, "How about we play against these guys? Five on three is fine."

While the rest of the street players recoiled at the surprise appearance of Kagami and Kise, Hana pouted up at the blond, "Technically it's three on six…"

"The hell did you say? Fine," The leader's face twitched at the insult from Kise, "Let's do it."

The two groups of boys separated with Hana following after the street ballers. She heard Kagami growl out her name, but she didn't turn to look at him. The group of trouble makers hardly spared her a glance while they shook in anger. Which was okay, since it let Hana do her thing with a lot less trouble. Walking toward the group leader, she tugged on his shirt sleeve.

"Mister," She widened her eyes, "What position do you want me to play?"

"Oh, it's you," The boy scowled down at her for a moment before a smirk broke out on his face, "Didn't think you'd actually come."

"You said I could play," Hana peered down at the ground and nudged the concrete with the toe of her shoe, "No one ever lets me play…"

"Well," He straightened back up and gave the rest of his group a smirk, "We'll definitely play with you. How about you stand by the hoop? This will be over quick."

"Alright!" With that, she threw her arms around the boy in a hug, "Thank you! I'll be the best player you've ever seen!"

"Don't doubt it," The boy smirked over at the grouping of her friends. Hana rolled her eyes at the macho gesture, but retreated with her prize safely tucked into Iseri's blazer. Her position at the hoop let her see everything, including the glare Kagami was sending her. _If looks could kill._

Turns out, the game was over quickly. Just not in the way the leader expected. Hana stood off to the side while her friends dominated the other boys. Whenever she got her hands on the ball, it would conveniently roll away toward Kuroko's team. For the rest of the game, any thugs that came close to her were sent tripping away from her timely placed foot. Her response was always the same half-hearted apology coupled with a wide-eyed stare.

Ten minutes later, the group of thugs was spread out across the court. They were gasping for breath while Kagami, Kise, and Kuroko stood above them in victory. It had been beautiful to watch in a way. The three boys worked together really well and Hana could already see Kise's growing respect for Kagami. Unfortunately, her wistfulness didn't last long before Kagami was grabbing her by the back of her shirt and tugging her away.

Unceremoniously, she was shoved onto the bench and her eyes widened at the three unimpressed looks the three boys were giving her. Luckily, the anger was directed toward Kuroko first. At least she had a bit of fate's graciousness on her side.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Kagami snarled at Kuroko, "Did you think you could win if it turned into a fight?"

"Of course not," Hana snorted at Kuroko's impassiveness, "They would have beaten me up. But, look at these guns."

Her laughter became louder and Hana had to cover her mouth while Kise began congratulating Kuroko. At the noise, Kagami turned toward her with fire in his eyes, "And you?! Why the hell did you go with them! You're a girl!"

"…" Her eyes narrowed on the redhead, "Rude."

" _That wasn't an answer, Imamura!"_

While Hana scooted away from the angry tiger, Kuroko decided to explain the answer for her, "Those guys were terrible. I wanted to show them that they were wrong."

Kagami's fists clenched in response, "Did you even think about the consequences?!"

"I forgot to," Kuroko deadpanned before turning toward Hana, "Although I do agree with Kagami-kun. Please don't do that again, Imamura-san."

Folding her arms over her chest, Hana looked away from him with a blush. So maybe she was in the wrong. But Kuroko got to be a hero, why couldn't she? She mumbled her answer toward the trashcan, "They were being assholes. I just wanted to help get their attention off you."

"By playing with them?!" Kagami stomped toward her and Hana gave him a wide-eyed pout, "You're even dumber than Kuroko!"

"Kagami-kun, that was rude."

"I don't want to hear anything from you, Kuroko!"

"Sorry."

Despite his apology, Kagami continued to ream Kuroko for his decisions and Hana remained silent, moving her eyes toward the only other boy. Kise's hair was shadowing his eyes, but she could still see the smile that graced his face at the banter between the other two boys. She tilted her head when Kise lifted his own and made eye contact with her. The grin he gifted her with was tender.

"I should go," Kise swung his jacket over his arm and turned toward Kagami and Kuroko, "But, don't think I've forgotten about my revenge, Kagami-cchi! You better not lose in the preliminaries!"

Kagami jerked at the nickname, "Kagami-cchi?!"

While Kuroko explained what the nickname meant, Hana watched Kise's back as he walked away. Her mouth tilted upwards at the edges and Hana stuck her hand into her pocket to fiddle with her new treasure. Hopping up from the bench, she made her way to Kuroko and Kagami.

"I'm sorry if I worried you," she bowed her head to both boys, but lifted it up with a smirk and ruining the effect, "But you should probably get used to it."

"Don't do stupid shit like that," Kagami pushed her head down with a heavy hand, "Dumb ass."

"I feel the love-" Prying the massive boy's hand off, Hana was interrupted by Kuroko addressing her.

Her blue haired friend's eyes were intense when they made contact with her own, "I agree. Please don't do something like that again."

"Eh?" Hana blinked. She'd have thought Kagami would have been the angriest one, "Uhm… I'm sorry?"

"Thank you," Kuroko was still staring at her, "Also, I would prefer you not to refer to me as your brother again."

"…" the blush Hana broke out into was purely coincidental. At Kuroko's words, Kagami moved his red eyes over Hana and Kuroko contemplatively while Hana struggled to find a way to break the tension, "Well, uhm okay! I'll keep that in mind!"

"Doubt it," Kagami snorted, but he didn't have anything else to add to the conversation. Kuroko didn't even offer her a verbal reply. He just gave her a once over and nodded his head. The protective feelings both boys were showing made her heart feel warm and Hana was startled by the fondness in her chest. _It's like my old team… sort of._ Turns out spur of the moment thoughts were going to be the death of her, because Hana marched toward Kagami with determination.

"Thanks asshole," Her arms wrapped around his waist in a firm hug. When Kagami began to flail, Hana darted over to Kuroko and repeated the process, "Thanks to you, too."

She didn't stick around long enough to see the effect of her actions. Hana offered both boys a wave over her shoulder before giving her parting words, "Tell Riko I'll see her later!"

The boys remained quiet until Kagami screamed after her with a shaking fist, "Imamura! Where the hell are you going?!"

"To find Kise!" She shouted over her shoulder as her walk turned into a sprint, "I'm paying back one of my debts!"

Back at the pavilion, Kuroko blinked after Hana's shrinking back. The dredges of warmth he felt from the hug brought back familiar feelings. Which led down a path he didn't want to venture to today, so he turned back to Kagami shortly afterwards, "That was odd."

"…" Kagami was still twitching in irritation, but he sobered up at Kuroko's statement, "What was that? Does she always do that?"

"Not anymore," Kuroko's confusion transferred into his words before voicing his next question, "Did you listen to mine and Kise-kun's conversation?"

* * *

So, finding Kise sounded easier inside her head. Hana had followed his pathway, but she hadn't been prepared for the fork in the sidewalk and like earlier today, she'd gone left. This choice made her realize a new hatred for the left direction. Walking down the same pathway, for the third time, Hana finally stuck her hand into her sock and retrieved her phone.

Her fingers flitted through the number easily and now she stood in the middle of the sidewalk, waiting for the blonde to pick up. Green eyes narrowed at the prolonged dial tone, "Answer your phone, Kise."

Two rings later, his voice spoke in the receiver, "Imamura-chan?"

"Okay," Hana perched her hand on her waist to growl back at him, "Where did you go?"

It was quiet and Hana was able to hear the traffic from the background. When he did speak, she could hear the confusion, even through the phone, "I'm on fifth street… why?"

"Oh, thank god," Hana began to stomp back the way she came, "Do you know how hard it is to find you? Like, couldn't you walk a little slower? Do you have to be such a difficult person all the time? What is with you all?"

"…" she didn't hear any response for a moment and she worried he'd hung up on her, "You followed me?"

"Yeah," even though Kise couldn't see her, she blushed, "You said I owe you. I wanted to pay you back, if that's alright?"

"Great!" Kise babbled on the other line, "What did you want to do?"

Hana paused. She hadn't really thought about that. Tugging her lip into her mouth, she replied, "Ice cream?"

"Ice cream?" Kise repeated and Hana could hear the smile in his voice, "Sounds good, Imamura-chan. I hope you're paying? Since you're the one that owes me~"

"Unfortunately, that was the plan."

They met up a few streets down from where Kise had been. He was generous enough to meet her half way and Hana couldn't be happier. Despite her self-labeled badass status, she didn't like wandering around in the dark. Reminiscent of her first time hanging out with Aomine, she was jumping at every shadow that moved near her. It was kind of exhausting actually. When she _finally_ found him, Kise was leaning against a street lamp and scrolling through his phone.

"Kise?" She raised her voice to get his attention. His head lifted and turned toward her with a grin. With the yellow tone of the streetlight highlighting him, Hana could definitely see why the boy was a model. _It's so effortless,_ _I kind of want to punch him._

"Imamura-chan!" The blond took a few steps and Hana was pulled into a hug. He tottered around while she was used as a life-sized doll, "I was worried you wouldn't make it!"

"I made the plans," Hana tried to push off his chest, but no such luck. _Damn muscles_ , "Okay, you have five seconds to let go before I hurt you."

Instead of letting go, Kise hugged her tighter, "I haven't hugged you in forever! I forgot how small you were!"

"Yes," Hana deadpanned, "Just insult my height, no problem."

"It's not a bad thing," Kise finally let her go and Hana watched his smile warily, "You know, when I said you owed me, I meant I got to decide what it was~"

Quirking an eyebrow, Hana shot him down, "No."

"No?" His hand came up to his heart and those damn watery eyes came back, "But… you were so mean to me!"

"I don't trust your ideas," Hana stated.

"…" Kise stared at her, his expression overly dramatic in Hana's opinion. His mouth gaped open in shock, "You don't trust _my_ ideas?! Imamura-chan! It should be the other way around!"

"Nope, because I have good ideas. You'd probably make me do something embarrassing," Her feet led her forward and she tilted her head over her shoulder, "You coming?"

"I am," Kise hummed before falling in step with her, "And you really don't have good ideas, Imamura-chan… I found your cupcakes."

Oh man, she didn't like that tone. Similar to his smirks, whenever Kise took that tone it meant he was getting pleasure out of something. Either light-hearted pleasure, or that annoying happiness he gets when he pushes people's buttons. Shooting the blond a side glance, Hana responded, "Where were they?"

"Coach found them," His hands were folded behind his head when he responded. Hana couldn't tell if he thought it was a good thing or a bad thing, "He's kind of mad at me, actually. Why'd you have to put my name on them? He blames me for it!"

 _Okay, so a bad thing._ Even though she gave Kise an apologetic smile _,_ Hana felt a bit too much pleasure at that statement, "Sweet, I'm glad they didn't go to waste. Your coach is a dick anyway."

Kise gawked at her statement, and Hana was a bit concerned she'd have to verbally apologize, but it was followed by shocked giggles shortly afterwards, "I kind of missed this."

 _Huh?_ Hana paused at that, "Missed what?"

"Hanging out with you," His voice went thoughtful as he shrugged, "It's different though, normally you're insulting me."

"Want me to do it? I've got plenty in the bank."

"No thanks. It's better this way," He laughed again, but he smothered it out shortly afterwards, "You know, Kuroko-cchi told me why he left… We really hurt him."

"You did," Hana kept walking despite the sudden subject change, "I don't really know what happened, but it must have been something shitty."

"Such honesty," Kise mumbled under his breath. They continued to walk toward the ice cream shop in relative silence until Kise broke it a couple minutes later, "I'm glad you can't lie to us. I'm not used to people being so open about everything."

"Befriend better people," Hana shrugged, but she immediately felt bad afterwards, "Sorry. I'm being a bitch, it's like my default mood with you."

"I've noticed," Kise was obviously in his serious mode again. _Great_ , "Imamura-chan? Do you think we'll ever really get back to how we were in middle school?"

 _Okay, I don't want to talk about this._ She didn't know if Kise could see it, but Hana flinched. It took her a few seconds to manage a reply, "… No. Which is probably a good thing."

"What do you mean?" Kise was frowning when Hana glanced over at him, "I know it's different now… but, I thought-"

"I don't want to go back to that," Hana cut him off with a grimace, "I mean, our friendship was nice, but I've got too many bad memories of back then. They aren't all about you, of course, but I was hoping we could start over. A new slate or some metaphorical shit like that."

It was silent while Kise thought over her answer. He broke it moments later, "Is that how you feel with Kuroko-cchi, too?"

"Mhmm," Hana hummed as she thought about her answer, "Everything's different now. Ugh, I sound like a soap opera," she snorted before continuing her thoughts, "I went through a lot after we parted ways and I learned a lot."

Kise's gold eyes peered over at her, "What happened?"

"Uhm," Hana stumbled over her words. She really didn't want to talk about this with anyone, old friend or not, "Let's not talk about it. Besides, we're here."

"If you say so, Imamura-chan," that was Kise's only reply before he walked into the ice cream shop. Hana remained outside for a moment, staring at his image through the glass door. Her hands twitched at her side and she let out a deep breath before pushing the door open and following after him. She hated when he got her to open up like that, _do not trust the tricky ass blond._

Kise was at the counter ordering when Hana popped up next to him. He gave her a tiny smile before turning his charms back onto the cashier. Hana didn't listen to him, she was too busy watching his personality practically light up the room. _Even if it is fake, it's powerful as hell._ The cashier turned to her and Hana responded automatically, "Vanilla ice cream cone, please."

She heard a chuckle above her and Hana peaked up at Kise. For some reason, the blond looked amused, "You sound like Kuroko-cchi, Imamura-chan."

"That's not a bad thing," Hana retorted as she dug out her payment method from Iseri's blazer. Ignoring the face on the student ID, she retrieved the correct amount of money and handed it to the cashier. Hana shot Kise a smirk as she got the ice cream, "Out of all of you, I'd rather be Kuroko."

"How mean," Kise was pouting, but his eyes were focused on the wallet Hana was shoving back into her pocket, "Where'd you get that, Imamura-chan?"

"Huh?" Hana's response was ineloquent, "What are you talking about?"

Kise's eyebrows were raised as he continued to look at the blazer pocket, "That doesn't look like yours..."

"How do you know what my wallet looks like?" Hana deflected as she led them toward a table, "Maybe I got a new one."

"You're lying," Kise practically sung his response before sitting down across from her, "I'm just curious, Imamura-chan! No need to get defensive~"

"Defensive, he says," Hana passively aggressively shoved his ice cream toward him. She took pleasure in the way he floundered to catch it before responding, "Okay… so I _may_ have picked up a couple bad habits since I left middle school."

Kise furrowed his brows as he brought a scoop of ice cream up to his mouth, "Like what?"

"Eh," Hana licked her cone before turning her eyes out the window, "Nothing bad, really. Just, uhm, borrowing a lot of things without permission."

It went silent again and Hana innocently licked her ice cream cone as she watched Kise sort through his thoughts. His face went through an assortment of emotions; ranging from confusion, understanding, shock, and then disbelief. Was that a tinge of worry under there? Or maybe exasperation?

"What?!" Kise exploded into sound as he leaned over the table to gape at her, "You stole someone's wallet?!"

"I borrowed it!" Hana defended before pausing. She altered her statement moments later, "Okay, I stole it. But those guys were assholes anyway!"

"What guys?" Kise was still gaping, but his mouth got bigger when he understood what she was implying, _he looks like a whale_ , "Imamura-chan! Is that why you played with them?!"

"Yeah," Hana blinked at him and brought her ice cream closer in preparation for her next words, "What'd you think I was doing it for? To get in their pants?"

Kise choked. Hana didn't know how he did it, but he made even choking overly theatrical. Like full on purple face and waving arms. _Hopefully he's not really dying._ By the time he was done, his face was flushed pink, "No! Don't say stuff like that!"

 _Don't say stuff like that? I'm on a boy's basketball team for god's sake._ Hana gave him a droll look, "You don't want me to talk about se-"

With a frantic movement, Kise shoved his spoon into her mouth. Hana's eyes widened at the surprise, but Kise distracted her from killing him on sight, "No! You can't talk about that! Who corrupted you?!"

"Murh," Hana swallowed the ice cream that was shoved in her mouth before glaring back at Kise, "Me? And why are you getting so defensive! You used to call me a pervert all the time!"

"But!" Kise's mouth continued to gape as he tried to think of an excuse. It was humorous, but _still_ , she'd always joked around like that, "That was—that was- it was before!"

"Before?" Hana raised a skeptical eyebrow, "So you suddenly care about my _innocence_ now? After months spent calling me a voyeur?"

"Urgk! Innocence?" Kise buried his face into his hand and groaned. While she watched him, Hana had to force herself not to erupt into laughter at his defeated expression, "I don't want to have this conversation…"

"You started it," Hana returned to her ice cream with a smirk, "I didn't know you could get all flustered like this. It's pretty damn funny."

If she didn't know better, she'd say Kise was pouting. Actually, on second thought, he definitely was pouting. Her resulting chuckle was buried in her ice cream and Kise shot her an accusing look at the sound. Hana just shrugged in response, but Kise still gave her the sad puppy eyes. She paused in her assault of her ice cream and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

Now that her teasing was over, Kise looked down at the table before replying, "So, you've started borrowingpeople things? What else do you do?"

She shrugged and tried to ignore the accusing tone of his voice. It was probably just her imagination anyway. Hana forced a sneaky grin when she looked back up, "Apparently play people. Your teammates didn't take it too well."

"Is that why Kasamatsu-senpai was so angry?" Kise looked like he had started to get the picture now, "He asked me about you!"

"He did?" Hana blinked at that. _Oh shit, not good_ , "What'd he say?"

"He just asked me if I knew you…" Kise trailed off with a thoughtful look, "I get why Kasamatsu-senpai was angry, but why was Moriyama-senpai?"

"Uhm," Hana blushed, "I may have got some information about him in less than honorable ways."

Kise paused with a spoon in his mouth. His resulting words were muffled around the silver ware, "What do you mean?"

"Erhm," there wasn't an easy way to say this. Might as well go all out with the truth, "He seemed to really like girls and well, I am a girl. Sooo yeah," she did a quick imitation of jazz fingers, " _Woo."_

"Imamura-chan," that was one of the few times she'd heard Kise speak so deadpan, "You flirted with my senpai?"

"It didn't go anywhere!" Hana defended. She picked up her ice cream cone and pointed it at the blonde's head at the accusation, "I told him I have a boyfriend!"

"…" Kise frowned at his ice cream in return, "Do you?"

She blinked at him, bewildered. Trying to understand what he was asking, Hana repeated his words with her own frown, "Do I what?"

"Never mind, Imamura-chan," Kise smiled his megawatt smile. She couldn't see the emotion underneath his newly placed mask, but she did see him falter in what he was about to say, "So, how have you been? I feel like I've missed a lot!"

"And we've moved onto small talk," Hana grumbled under her breath. She licked her ice cream cone once before raising an eyebrow, "I've been fine. I sort of miss Teiko though… I don't know what to do without my team."

"You guy's must have been close," Kise hummed as he pushed his ice cream bowl to the end of the table. When he turned back to her, his face was still painted in the fake smile, "I remember how bonded you were when I played with you back then."

"We were," Hana smirked at the thought, "I seriously miss them, though. It's not fun trying to boss around Hyuuga-senpai."

The fake smile slipped off a bit at the mention of Seirin and Kise tilted his head slightly, "Did you miss us that bad?"

"Man," Her ease vanished instantly. _That was a punch to the gut._ Snarling at the blonde, Hana bit into her ice cream cone, "You go from small talk to intense questions right away. What is this? Twenty questions?"

"Not really," Kise smirked, but it was a little too sharp for Hana's tastes, "Are you going to answer?"

"…" _Not when you challenge me like that. I'll win this shit man._ Green eyes narrowed on the blond in defiance, "I might."

"Really?" Kise let out a little laugh. The effect ruined the sharp edge of his smirk, but Hana didn't trust him yet, "It doesn't seem like you will."

"You're treating me like an opponent," Hana deadpanned. _Time to change the subject_ , "Am I your opponent, Kise?"

"Do you want to be?" That goddamn smirk. _Well, that backfired completely._ Hana was tempted to smash her ice cream cone into his face. She hated when he did that, whatever it was. It was like a weird mix of teasing and flirting and it _pissed_ her off.

"Your suave shit doesn't work on me," she refrained from ruining her icy treat. Since her subject change failed, Hana decided to just go with the truth, "Whatever, to answer your question, yes. I did miss you guys. Not as much as I miss my own team, but a good bit."

"Good," Kise didn't offer her any response more than that and Hana glared at him. _That stupid—jerk! Making me answer all these questions and he doesn't even give a response!_ Her thoughts were interrupted when Kise spoke again, "I meant to tell you earlier, but don't do that again."

 _Huh?_ Hana raised an eyebrow at the sharp tone, "Do what?"

"I don't really like it when you flirt with my teammates," Kise shrugged softly before stretching his arms above his head, "It's kind of weird…"

"Weird?" Hana deadpanned. _Well thank you, Kise. Just what I wanted to hear_ , "What the hell are you going to do when I get a boyfriend?"

"I don't think you will," if Kise wasn't smiling, Hana would have taken that as an insult. Right now, she figured it was just his screwed up way of teasing her. _Which won't do._

"I'm not?" leaning her chin on her palm, Hana's eyebrows rose in challenge. The final blow came milliseconds later, "Kagami would beg to differ."

Well, that sure shut him up. _Success! That'll teach you not to mess with me._ Kise gaped at her for a moment before forcing the words out of his mouth, "Kagami-cchi?!"

"Yup," Hana clicked her tongue against her teeth. Her resulting smile was absolutely devious, "We've got chemistry. Couldn't you tell? I bet we're soulmates. Destiny babies. True loves. Forever—"

"Imamura-chan," Kise whined out her name as he cut her off. He gave her an exasperated pout before laying his head against the table in dejection, "Stop joking around."

"Who said I was joking?" Hana's smirk proved her words wrong, but she didn't care. She stood up from her chair and stared down at the melodramatic blond, "Are you done? I want to get on the bus before my dad starts to freak out."

"I am," It was like he had a secret button that could turn off tears. _I wouldn't be surprised._ While Hana pondered, Kise stood up with a flourish, "I'll walk you there!"

"You don't have to," Hana denied automatically. She didn't need to be escorted. Sure, it'd be nice, but she was positive Kise had better things to do, "It's just the bus."

"I don't mind," the blond shrugged his shoulders before offering her a grin, "I don't know when I'll see you again, might as well take it for all it's worth."

"If you say so," Hana snorted as she turned her eyes up to him, "We'll probably see each other sooner than you think. You guy's tend to stalk Kuroko. It's kind of obnoxious."

"Wah," Kise brought his hand up in mock pain, but it was fooled by the smile he flashed her, "I don't stalk Kuroko-cchi! Besides, aren't you happy to see us?"

"Ehhhh," Hana trailed off as she disposed of her ice cream cone. Kise continued to walk beside her as he waited for her response. Now that her hand was free, she waved it half-heartedly, "I'm okay with you and Kuroko. The other's will be difficult."

Instead of replying, Kise pushed the door open and Hana followed after him. They stood under the bright pink light of the sign for a moment. When Kise looked down to the ground, he was bathed in pink light and Hana distantly wondered if she looked the same way. Kise licked his lips before turning his now shining eyes back up to her.

"Probably," Kise smiled again, but there was a tinge of self-condescension on the edges, "I just want to say I'm sorry… For the part I had in everything."

At the sincerity of his statement, Hana tugged at the tail end of her hair. She wasn't good with other people's feelings, but she had to say something. _Would 'I know' work? Or is that a dick move? Maybe 'I'm sorry too'? But I'm not sorry._ Her eyes narrowed on Kise as she struggled through her thoughts.

"Imamura-chan?" With a cautious undertone, Kise took a step back at the irritation she was radiating, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," despite her statement, Hana scowled. She still couldn't figure out the right way to respond to that. Accepting the apology would be good, but it was a heartless response. _I need to say something that finalizes everything. Thank you doesn't work that way…_

"Are you sure—"

"Ah ha!" her hands came up to her neck as she interrupted Kise. Determined fingers unlatched the chain around her neck before balling it into her fist. She shoved it out to him, "Here!"

"What?" Kise was frowning at the unexpected movement, "What are you doing, Imamura-chan?"

"Giving you your necklace back," Hana shook her hand again, but Kise made now move to grab it. Her lips pursed at his resistance, "Take it!"

Despite her order, Kise made no move toward it, "Why… why are you giving it back?"

"…" Hana rolled her eyes, but it didn't stop the blush that crawled up her cheeks. The explanation was kind of sappy and she didn't want to explain it. Except one look at Kise's troubled expression had her mouth moving, "It's like a friendship necklace. You used to wear it when we were friends so, I thought you could wear it again now that we're friends again…" _Oh my god, that was lame._

"Oh," Kise was smiling now, the distress vanishing as quickly as it came. Still though, he didn't take the necklace back, "That's okay. I kind of prefer you wearing it. Besides, like you said earlier, we're starting over!"

"Yeah," Now Hana was the one frowning, "Which is why you should take it back? You know, to restart everything?"

"Nah uh~" Kise started to walk forward and Hana was left gaping after his sudden departure. When she made her way back up to him, the blonde gave her an indulgent look, "Let's restart things differently this time."

 _What the hell._ Discreetly shoving the necklace down into her bra, Hana's mouth pursed as she thought about it, "Differently? What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it," Kise waved it off and turned down to look at her. When he saw her glaring eyes, the blonde chuckled and wrapped an arm over her neck before pulling Hana into a too tight hug, "Don't look so grumpy, Imamura-cchi! You'll get frown lines!"

"What," Hana deadpanned. From her place against his chest, she felt Kise's chuckles multiply, "You just, _no._ "

Sensing her bristle, Kise peered down at her before breaking into even louder guffaws, "Now you look like an angry kitten, Imamura-cchi!"

"Don't call me that."

"It's okay, Imamura-cchi!"

"… _Kise._ "

* * *

After her receiving her _wonderful_ new nickname, Kise had walked her to the bus, just like he'd promised. Unfortunately for Hana, it was a long trip filled with teasing remarks and too much touching. She had forgotten how clingy the blond could be and while at first it was tolerable, it got old pretty damn quick. A fact that Kise just seemed to _love._ Who knew hugs could be considered efficient torture devices?

Anyway, she managed to get home on time and escape to her room without a lecture. Her father even brought home burgers! Which would have been great, if the thought of meat didn't leave her gagging. Riko and her stupid steak. _Speaking of Riko…_ Hana grimaced as she worked on her homework, _she is going to murder me for running off._

Leaning further against Nūdoru, Hana circled the correct answer for her final problem before throwing the notebook to the floor. Nūdoru jerked at the surprise noise, but quickly settled down and fell back asleep. Hana brought a tired hand to rub at her eyes and the movement made Iseri's blazer fall off her shoulder. _That reminds me, I should probably wash this._

Leaving her wonderful pillow of doggy warmth, Hana rolled off the bed and stood up to remove the grey jacket. At least, that's what she _was_ doing, but then she felt the item tucked into the pocket. A smug smile flashed across her face as she fished it out. The leather was surprisingly new and Hana felt bad, for just a moment, before flipping it open.

The face of the leader greeted her and Hana removed his student ID from the plastic window. Green eyes scanned over the information lazily, not really registering the details. Until it landed on the school name and crest, _Meijo Academy._ Well, that sure made Hana perk up. _That's where Kitano goes!_

"I swear," Hana scowled at her revelation, "If I find out he's friends with those thugs…"

That wasn't a happy thought. She remembered Kitano mentioning he had a friend that went to the school and that friend played streetball. The odds weren't really in her friend's favor. If she found out he hung out with those guys, Kitano was going to be in a world of pain. Holding the student ID in her other hand, Hana reached behind her and grabbed her phone.

You would think that she'd call Kitano or something, but no, that's not how Hana went about it. Instead, she pulled up Momoi's contact and shot the girl a quick text. Hopefully, the other manager was still awake. Five minutes passed with Hana examining the rest of the contents of the wallet before the other girl replied. At the beep, Hana called her instead of replying.

"Ima-chan?" Momoi sounded tired, but Hana pushed away any worry that she'd woken her, "What's up?"

"Hey, Momoi," Hana bit her lip into her mouth as she considered her next words, "I had a proposition to make with you."

"Really?" Well, that made Momoi sound much more lively, "What were you thinking?"

Flopping onto her back, Hana stared up at the ceiling, "We faced Kaijo today—but you knew that. Anyway, I got some information on them and I was _curious_ to see if you wanted to make a trade."

She heard Momoi hum a moment later, "With what? I'm sorry Ima-chan, but I'm not giving you information about Tōō."

"Nah," Hana chuckled at the thought, "I wouldn't give you information about Seirin either. No, Meijo Academy. They aren't a high-level team, I don't think, but I have a friend that goes there."

"Oh," Momoi paused as she thought over the deal, "That's all?"

Despite Momoi not being able to see her, Hana waved a hand, "Basically. You could throw in some information about Midorima's team too though, you know, as a best friend discount."

Momoi let out a soft giggle, but her words were stern, "I don't think that's a good idea… But I can look into the rest of the schools in your district. That way it'd be an even trade."

"Hell yeah," Hana was grinning now, "I'll send you the file I made later, but I'm not going to include Kise."

"That's fine," Momoi let out another chuckle, "I have a lot of information on him anyway. Speaking of Ki-chan, did you two make up?"

Rolling her eyes, Hana replied, "The amount of information you know is terrifying."

"You didn't answer the question, Ima-chan!"

"Well…" Hana rolled onto her stomach, phone perched between her cheek and her shoulder, "It went something like this—"

You know, having a girl friend is pretty therapeutic. Gossip is a powerful medication and Hana was loving it. While she chatted with Momoi about her encounter with Kise, Hana couldn't stop the fond smile that grew on her lips. Momoi was helping her sort through her thoughts and letting Hana see the sense in things that she didn't know a lot about. Like the raging emotions in her head. _Although,_ Hana quirked an eyebrow when Momoi began to giggle hysterically on the other line, _I feel like she knows something I don't._

 _Whatever_ , Hana shrugged the thought off while she continued to talk, _Momoi always knows things._

* * *

 **Reviews!**

 **Naliyu: Thank you so much! Ahhh! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!**

 **ADDBaby: I like to think of her as a crow... just picking up shiny things all the time and giving them to deserving people. But yes! Such elegance! Thank you for another super funny review! I look forward to them!**

 **Red Raspberries: Happy late birthday! Thank you, ah! I love hearing that it was written nicely! You've given me so many awesome reviews! Thank you!**

 **AngelicHallows: I'm glad I got everyone spot on, thank you :) and wooh! Thank you for that input on the game. It makes me practically glow to hear such wonderful praise. Thank you for another review and I hope you enjoy the sort of date(?) I put in here... you actually gave me that idea, so thanks!**

 **Jazmeme: Thank you for your review! And we will find out about the last sentence sooner or later!**

 **mikohoshine: Here's one!**

 **: Awh man, thank you! I'm going to take your words to heart and work to make things clearer for the rest of the games. I went back and reread the game and I totally get where your coming from. For the description of Hana, it will probably be in the next chapter. I've got all my plot notes and character cheat sheets saved on my main computer and I can't access it right now! I'll get on it as soon as possible though! Thank you!**

 **R: Thank you!**

 **Arrach: it should be interesting! Thanks for your review!**

 **CrystalViolet24: Ahhh! I love hearing you say that about her character, so so much! Thank you! Also, I'm glad you liked the game scene and thank you so much for answering my question! You gave great advice! Thank you, thank you!**

 **: Thank you for another great review! If only Hana and Iseri could elope and live their lives together in relative peace. Too bad they can't hahah. Thank you for such detailed reviews, they really make me happy! :)**

 **volley-14-nerd: Thank you!**

 **LillyLunaK: Thank you!**

 **FrizzleChicken: Awh man, you make me blush. Thank you! Ahh! You guys are all so nice! Kise is also one of my favorites! (Probably shows.. opps) But regrading Midorima he's going to be interesting to work through, but I'm so excited because _Takao._ Anyway, another thank you for a great review!**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuch: Thank you for your review! Yes, Iseri was the perfect voice of reason, if only he could stick around and help her twenty four seven. Thank you for your thoughts on the game! I'm super grateful that you answered my question, so double thank you!**

 **ArchimedesAckermann: Thank you! I'm glad you thought it was awesome! Makes me so happy and giggly. Thank you again!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Okay, it's been two weeks and oh man I'm so sorry. I never meant to take such a long break, but school was calling my name and this story started to feel like an essay instead of a hobby. So, I took a break. Anyway, I'm back! Yay! I'm sorry I don't have a more entertaining chapter for you guys, but I needed to set some plot points up and well, _ta-da!_ I hope it's not terrible... I felt a little rusty. Enjoy my friends! (ALSO THANK YOU! 200! AND THE REVIEWSSSS AHHH)**

 **Warnings: Bad language, violence, bad (seriously bad) editing**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke**

* * *

An Unofficial Guide to Being a Manager

There was no way in hell Hana was getting a sandwich. Nope, not happening. Nothing in the world would _ever_ make her step foot into that crowd. _Not even a dying nun._ The boys could fend for themselves. As she leaned against the wall, she watched Kagami throw Fukuda into the crowded lunch line. _Poor guy, he's going to be traumatized._

"That's not going to work," Hana droned before flinching as Kagami slammed himself into the wall of bodies, "… you're all idiots."

"Imamura-san," Kuroko scolded as he magically teleported beside her, "Don't be mean."

Letting out a startled grunt, Hana turned to Kuroko with a comeback ready on her tongue, "I'm not— what's that?"

"The sandwich," Kuroko blinked at her, "I got it a moment ago."

Hana stared at him. She stared for a damn long time, but no matter how long she looked at him, Kuroko didn't twitch. She finally commanded her body to do something else and Hana slammed a hand against her forehead, "You're the shittest little shit that has ever been a shit."

"Thank you."

"Not a compliment—" Hana dragged her hand down her face, "You know what? Never mind. You're welcome."

Turns out the rest of the freshmen were equally impressed with Kuroko's antics. By impressed, Hana meant somewhat annoyed and highly murderous. Oh well, they got the sandwich. _Woo-hoo,_ her thoughts deadpanned. Now that the task was done, they were all gathered at the roof with the sacred sandwiches in tow.

The second-years were oddly proud. Kind of like a mother watching their child walk for the first time _or maybe like a father hearing their child say their first curse._ While everyone basked in the glow of fresh bread, Hana leaned against the rail. She belatedly wondered why they were up there, considering they were _banned_ , but she shrugged it off.

"Did you not get one, Imamura-chan?" Koganei's voice came from the left. When Hana turned to him, his head was tilted like a puppy. _More like a kitten, actually._

"Nah," she shrugged a shoulder, "I'll take the training over the crowd any day. Besides, have you seen those things? _Bleegkh."_

Ironically, Kuroko choose that moment to bite into his sandwich. Hana would have never thought Kuroko was the pink sparkly type, but hey, you learn something new every day. The ghostly boy's cheeks had flushed and a tiny smile graced his lips. While everyone gawked, Hana stared. Something tinged in the back of her head, but she was distracted from analyzing it by Furihata biting into his own sandwich.

"It's so amazing," the boy's cheeks flushed and his eyes glazed over, "The flavors of the steak are great!"

"I wonder if they make that expression when they—" Hana was interrupted by a hard thump to the back of her head, "Shit! Hyuuga!"

"Don't say things like that," The captain gave her an eye crinkling smile, "or I'll force your mouth shut."

"I'd like to see you— I'm joking! Where the hell did you even get _tape?!"_

xXxXxXx

Practice that day was somber for some reason. Hana stood behind Kagami, eyeing Hyuuga warily. She had narrowly avoided the tape earlier, but she didn't think she'd be so lucky this time around. At least the captain was distracted. His voice traveled across the team and Hana peered down at the schedule she'd been gifted with. The word's _**Inter-High Tournament**_ were typed along the top.

"If we lose we're out," Hyuuga continued to explain the rules of the tournament and the freshmen listened intently while Hana analyzed the list of schools. Finally, his explanation came to an end, "And that's the Inter-High."

"I sort of get the picture, but you're wrong about one thing," Hana was mildly surprised when Kagami was the first to speak, "They aren't chosen. They win it."

"Deep," She contributed from the background, subsequently breaking the team out of their admiration, "I never knew you were a poet, Kagami. Anyway, when does this thing start?"

Hyuuga turned toward her stiffly and Hana ducked back behind Kagami's back. The glare continued for a minute before we answered her question, "We've got three weeks."

Hana filed that information away for later. That was plenty of time to plan. When she zoned back into reality she realized everyone was still staring at her, "Oh, my bad. Continue with the game plan."

"We almost made it to the top last year, but we fell behind. We'll face a lot of strong schools, but we need to watch for Shutoku High," Hyuuga moved his glare away from her to finish his monologue, "Like Kaijo, they've managed to get a member of the Generation of Miracles on their team."

When Hyuuga paused, Kagami turned to Kuroko, "Do you know who he is?"

"I doubt you'd believe me if I told you," Kuroko's answer was bland, "However, Kise-kun was correct when he said the other four are on a different level. If they've improved, I can't imagine how good they are now."

"…" poking her head out from behind Kagami, Hana frowned at Kuroko's statement, "Well, that was cheerful. We beat Kise, didn't we?"

"There we go," the stupid tiger had his hand on her head again, "Listen to the brat."

"I swear to every deity _on this planet_ that I'm going to rip your fingers off—"

The closing of the door broke up the incoming argument and everyone watched as Riko made her way into the gym. The coach dropped her bag down before delivering the news, "We shouldn't worry about Shutoko. Our first game is going to give us some trouble, especially a certain player."

Riko pulled out her phone before handing it to Hyuuga, "Look at the picture."

"It's cute," Hyuuga deadpanned and Hana tried to peek over the everyone's shoulders to see what he was looking at, but no such luck. Riko blushed before ordering Hyuuga to go to the next photo. When he did, the captain gaped, "He's huge!"

Hana finally made her way through the overly muscles bodies to look at the phone. Darting under Izuki's arms she stared at the photo of the man on the screen. He definitely looked intimidating… that was for sure. Riko began to list of his name, height, and mentioned that he was an exchange student for Senegal. _Papa Mbaye Siki._

The Seirin team digested that information with varying degrees of shock. Meanwhile, Hana subtly slid the phone out of Hyuuga's hand before forwarding the picture to herself. When she came back to reality, everyone was engaged in the newly nicknamed 'Dad'.

Until Riko interrupted them all with a shout, commanding their attention.

"Not only is he tall physically, his arms and legs are long too. Last year, Shinkyo Academy was only a middle tier school, but now they've improved dramatically," Riko's tone was solemn, "With the addition of one foreign player they've completely changed."

"We can't just do nothing —" Kagami was interrupted by the coach.

"Who said that?" Riko smiled at the grumpy redhead, "Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun, starting tomorrow you two will have your own training regimen. The preliminaries start May 16th! Let's get ready for them!"

While everyone cheered at the pep talk, Hana trailed her eyes over the grouping. They lingered on Kagami and Kuroko, both looking at each other, before her eyes landed on the coach. The older girl was smiling and Hana tilted her head in consideration. A _ping_ had her pulling out her phone and revealing a file sent from Momoi. _Well, that was convenient timing._

When Riko blew the whistle to start practice, Hana took a few steps backwards. No one noticed until later that she'd vanished without a word.

* * *

Laying on the floor in front of her television, Hana's eyes blinked as she stared at the recently delivered notes. Momoi's information was impeccable, but that didn't stop the exhaustion creeping up Hana's spine. Beside her, Nūdoru let out a snore and she patted him on the head. Her eyes trailed back up to the television and Hana quirked a brow at the over the top special effects.

"That wouldn't work," she snorted as the main character jumped off the bridge to land on a passing truck, "That car was going way too fast. Right, Nūdoru?"

Her dog didn't reply, he just continued to doze away on the floor. Hana scoffed at the action before turning her attention back to the notes. So far, she'd been able to transfer the majority of the information into her phone, but man, it was tedious. A loud echo of gunfire came from the movie and Hana blinked back up at the screen.

Resting her head on her palm, she watched as the main character dodged a spray of bullets. Which you know, totally not possible. _Unless you were a ninja._ As the truck exploded and the main character jumped onto another car, Hana let out a long yawn. She'd spent all afternoon working on her studies and her manager stuff, and now her self-imposed tiredness was making its presence known.

Green eyes opened and closed once, then twice before Hana relaxed further onto her palm. The last thing she remembered from reality was the main character's spiel. Something about saving the world… _and his girlfriend. Can't forget the obligatory love interest_.

Hours later, Hana woke up on the dusty flooring. Her father was standing over her with a smirk and apparently, he was also the cause of her now conscious state. Blinking the crust from her eyes, Hana rolled over only to jolt in surprise. When had Nūdoru climbed on top of her? _Whatever. I'm too tired for this shit._

"Have a nice nap?" Her father chuckled, but Hana couldn't respond with anything other than a loud moan, "You looked comfortable."

Bringing her hand up to cover the oppressive light, Hana grumbled, "I was. How long was I asleep?"

"Well, it's noon," snorting, her father began to walk away, "Lunch is on the table if you're hungry."

"Food," Hana's voice sounded robotic as she struggled to her knees. At the movement, Nūdoru jolted up and shook his head around. It took a few seconds, but when the smell registered, Nūdoru stumbled toward the kitchen. He promptly ignored Hana's yell, "Hey! That's mine!"

With a groan, Hana followed after her over eager pup. The smell of lunch had her stomach growling in long forgotten hunger and she collapsed into the nearest chair. Green eyes squinted in the light before a hand greedily snatched the offered bag of food. Bringing it to her chest, Hana turned toward her father, "Why aren't you at work? Not that I'm not happy or anything."

Leaning against the counter, her dad let out a huff, "Kitchen mishap. That new guy, what was his name? Anyway, he messed up the oven last night."

"That sucks," Hana shoved her hand into the bag and retrieved two burgers. Unwrapping one, she tossed it to Nūdoru. Flinching at her dad's glare, she motioned toward the burgers to divert his attention, "Three days in a row? That's a record."

"Don't complain," her father walked toward her and snatched the bag out of her hands. Ignoring Hana's hiss, he continued, "How late were you up? I've never heard you snore so loud."

"I don't snore," she defended automatically. Ripping into the greasy delicacy, she finished her answer with a full mouth, "And I think I passed out at like four? Maybe five. I don't know, the sun was up though."

"That's terrible."

"I'm noticing," Hana deadpanned, "Did you turn off the coffee?"

"I'll make a new pot," her dad's smirk was lost to Hana, but his reply was clear over the sound of rustling in the kitchen, "What were you dreaming about? You kept repeating something about explosions."

Finishing the last of her burger, Hana shrugged out her reply, "I fell asleep watching that new movie, about a mob that steals body parts—"

Her father tsked, "Don't watch stuff like that."

"Yes sir," she rolled her eyes before resting her head against the table, "I think I dreamed that all my friends were spies or something. Kuroko had a gun."

"Interesting," she heard the water running before her dad came back to the table, "Kuroko's the blue haired one, right? Short and polite?"

"Yeah," Hana peeked her head up and raised an eyebrow, "You remember him?"

Leaning against the front of the table, her father gave her an innocent smile, "I remember everyone."

"Because that's not creepy," she snarked back before stretching her arms above her head, "What are you doing today?"

"I need to clean; the house is a mess. Want to help—"

"No."

"That was a rhetorical question, Hana."

Cleaning is supposed to be a mindless activity. For most of the population, it probably is. But for Hana, cleaning made her think about _everything._ Well, not everything. Her thoughts were mainly focused on her dream from the night before. As she scrubbed down the bathroom floor, bits and pieces were coming back to her.

Said bits and pieces included Kagami with a sniper rifle. That was a fun mental image, especially when Hana remembered his temper and how often it was aimed at her. _He can never have a gun._

Anyway, as she worked, plans were forming in her head. They weren't the best, but by god, they were making Hana excited. _So many possibilities! So many options!_ At one point her dad poked his head into the bathroom only to retrace his steps at Hana's dark chuckles echoing from behind the shower curtain.

The cleaning continued for another couple hours and Hana had successfully finished the upper level of the house. She'd also developed some pretty in depth blueprints for her new master plan. _I'm a certifiable genius._

With a skip to her step, Hana called Nūdoru and the two made their way up to her room. Her lovely little pup jumped straight on her bed to nuzzle underneath the covers, but Hana went right to her desk.

She pulled her hair into a lose pony tail and retrieved a pen before eying the blank table top. Her plans abruptly petered out, _how do I do this?_

Ever since last practice, Hana had been struck with an unnatural desire to help her new team. It wasn't as strong as her devotion to her Teiko teammates, but it could easily match the level if given the time. Not to mention, unlike Futabatei, Riko didn't seem to have a huge problem with Hana's sneakier side. She'd just have to grovel a bit _or a lot._

Pulling out her notebooks and her computer, Hana brought her fingers in front of her before cracking them one by one.

 _Time to get this party started._

* * *

The next day, Sunday to be precise, Hana had texted Riko and asked her to meet up at the hospital. She'd also specifically told Riko to come thirty minutes early. That sounds like a bad idea, but when you combine an angry Riko with a happy Kiyoshi you get a much less grumpy coach. At least, that was the plan. Unfortunately, when Hana opened the door to Kiyoshi's room, it proved to be an incorrect equation.

Riko was on her in a second. Hana didn't know how she did it, Riko could have been hiding on the ceiling for all she knew. But one minute, Hana was breathing and the next she was not. In the blink of an eye, the coach tackled her to the floor and stuffed her into another tight headlock. Hana's arms flailed around desperately as she gasped for air, but her only savior didn't move off his bed.

"Stop running off!" Riko's arm tightened when Hana tried to cough up a response, "You can't keep doing that! Do you know how worried we were?!"

Clawing at the arm around her neck, Hana tried to buck Riko off her. She couldn't. Instead she let out a cacophony of strangled sounds. She meant to say, "I'm sorry!"

Instead, Hana's words sounded more like, "Meruh gurrah!"

Riko continued to suck the life out of her, but luckily her saving grace, Kiyoshi, interrupted, "Riko? She's turning purple."

The choking stopped and Riko looked at Hana closely. The coach didn't remove her arm for a long time, but when she finally deemed Hana's punishment sufficient, Riko backed off and stood up. For her part, Hana collapsed completely onto the ground. Her voice broke into pained whimpers, but no sympathy was given by the older teens. _I hate you both._

"Imamura-chan," Riko came closer and offered a hand out. Hana eyed it warily, but eventually reached for it and allowed herself to be pulled up, "That'll teach you to ask first, but are you alright?"

 _Yes, I love being murdered._ Instead of relaying those thoughts, Hana just nodded before turning to Kiyoshi, "Thanks for saving my life."

"No problem, Imamura," Kiyoshi gave her a grin, but his eyebrows quirked in confusion, "Not that I'm complaining, but why'd you want to meet up today?"

"Yeah," Riko echoed Kiyoshi's sentiment before heading toward the chair beside his bed, "That was really last minute! I had plans with Hyuuga-kun today!"

Filing that hint of information away for later, Hana turned her back on the two teens and retrieved her backpack. It had been thrown to the side in the assault and she didn't want her master plan too far away from her. When she turned back around, Hana addressed them both, "I wanted to talk about something… I had an idea."

While Riko absorbed the new development, Kiyoshi blinked, "In my hospital room?"

"Yes," This time, Hana pointed an accusing finger at the boy, "That was the whole reason! You didn't do your job!"

"My job?" Kiyoshi's brows furrowed and he tilted his head a bit, "What are you talking about?"

"Do your make everyone happy shit!"

"… what?"

"You're always calm! You were supposed to cancel out Riko's demonic rage!"

Scooting back, Kiyoshi sweat dropped at Hana's glare, "I don't think it works that way…"

"What's the idea?" The coach interrupted their side conversation. Riko's auburn eyebrows were furrowed and she had her chin resting in her palm. Hana referred to that as her _I'm-a-badass-coach_ position, "I'm not saying I'll approve, but I'll listen to what you have to say."

"Okay…" Hana paused for dramatic effect. When the two older teens began to look annoyed, she relayed her life changing idea, "I want to start an espionage ring."

Their expressions flatlined as the words left her mouth. With a pout, Hana watched as Riko slammed her head into her knees before trailing her eyes over to the only boy in the room. Even though he was trying to look supportive, Hana could still see the grimace Kiyoshi was narrowly hiding. _It's not that bad! Just use your imagination, people!_

"Hey," Hana folded her arms over her chest in defense, "It's a good idea!"

Rubbing the back of his head, Kiyoshi let out a soft chuckle, "We aren't saying it's a bad idea… it just seems kind of theatrical? I don't think we need all that as a basketball team."

"It's insane," Riko muttered into her thighs, "What made you think of something so— ridiculous?"

"Like you're one to talk," Hana grumbled pensively, but she shut up when Riko peeked at her. Instead, she brought her hands in front of her chest and began to explain, "I had a dream. Okay, so it was a stupid dream… Kuroko was an assassin and Kagami was a really shitty hitman. Anyway! We were all part of a vigilante group and we had to get information on rival groups! So I infiltrated all their camps—"

"Imamura-chan," Riko's groan cut her off, "That doesn't explain anything!"

"I don't know," That was Kiyoshi, "It sounds like a really interesting dream… What did I do?"

Twitching, Riko turned toward Kiyoshi, "That wasn't the point!"

"I'm just curious," Kiyoshi held his hands up defensively, "I kind of want to know what Mitobe was too… I bet he'd be a good spy…"

"… _Teppei!"_

Watching the spectacle she'd accidently created, Hana coughed to bring the attention back onto herself. She wrung her hands as she started the final part of her explanation, "Okay, the dream wasn't really the point, but I'm serious. It's just… I've been thinking. I want to help somehow and I figured getting more information on everyone would be a good way to do it, but I need your permission to skip practice and do it."

Riko rubbed a tired hand over her eyes, "I like the sentiment… but how would you even do this? You can't possibly get people to work with you."

"I've got it all planned out," Hana jumped up, startling the other two teens. Her face stretched into a grin as she marched toward her bookbag and retrieved a worn composition book, "First, I'll need to make connections in every school. I've got a couple already."

"That sounded kind of ominous," Kiyoshi muttered under his breath and Riko nodded her head in agreement.

Flipping the cover of the composition book open, Hana sat on the floor and pointed to a colorful chart, "You see this? This is a list of all the high schools in Tokyo and a few surrounding areas, just in case. The ones that are green mean I have access to contacts. The ones that are yellow mean I sort of know someone there and the ones that are red mean I don't know anyone."

"That's a lot of green…" Riko blinked at the piece of paper shoved into her face, "How do you know all these people?"

"Teiko," Hana smirked as she took her notebook back and flipped to the next page, "I was manager of the second-string team for three years. Most of my old teammates will help me out, but I've got enough blackmail incase they're difficult."

"I don't think blackmail is a good idea," Kiyoshi cut in, "You should just ask them politely."

Pausing, Hana stopped reading her next chart and pouted up at the hospital bed, "Blackmail is always a good idea."

"No, it's not," Riko responded as she got off her chair and came to sit on the floor by Hana. Her coach examined the new page with a frown. Her finger trailed over a section when she questioned, "What is this?"

"A list of all the yellow and red colored schools," Hana pointed over at the numbers next to the names, "This is a ranking of how hard it'll be to get informants from there."

Folding her legs underneath herself, Riko leaned over to read, "There's only five that are labeled above five. Is ten the hardest?"

"Yeah," Hana's upper lip tugged into a snarl at the page, "Four of the schools have miracles on their teams now… and the other one is Kirisaki Daiichi. Obviously, that'd be hard to do since Hanamiya knows who I am."

"That's true. You shouldn't even bother with his school," Riko took her next question into her own hands and flipped the page. She stopped at a page full of bullet points and highlighted sections, "What's this?"

"A list of all the ways I could get connections for each school. Err… the ones with rankings under five. I haven't figured out the big leaguers yet."

Her coach took the notebook away from her and Hana leaned back on her palms as Riko read through the notes. A couple minutes passed and she heard Kiyoshi move around anxiously, but Riko remained silent. It was another second before Riko finally spoke, "These are good ideas… but I don't understand the point of them. Like an ex-girlfriend? Why would you need to talk to someone like that?"

"Well," Hana pushed herself back up and twisted toward Riko, "It's mostly just ways to get unbiased information regarding the basketball team's personality. I'd rather befriend a couple of basketball players, but if that doesn't work, close associates would."

Riko frowned in thought, putting her chin in her hands, "But what good would that do for the basketball team? I'm not going to let you wander off all the time without a purpose."

"It'll help," Hana snorted at the thought before preceding to explain, "Everyone always focuses on how a person plays; their defense and offense, their jumping, their speed, all that shit. They never look into the actual person. Understanding someone's personality puts all the crap together."

"I think I get what you're saying," Kiyoshi finally inserted himself into the conversation, "But that sounds like a lot of work… would you be able to handle it?"

"Wait, I don't understand yet," Riko interrupted Hana's response, "Please explain, Imamura-chan."

"Uhm," Hana brought her hand up to her neck before looking at the ceiling, "You remember when I told you Kise was going to start feeling cornered during the practice game? He doesn't like when people crowd around him, which is ironic considering he crowds around everyone, but yeah. It's his personality transferring over into his playing style."

"I remember that," Riko's frown turned contemplative, "You were right then, but you've known Kise-san for a really long time. How would you be able to get that type of information on so many people you don't know?"

"I wouldn't," Hana shrugged, before flipping to the next page, "It's like I did with the Kaijo team. It's easy to get information on a whole team from just one person; if you do it right."

"… But you got caught." _And there goes my dignity._

"Yes, thank you," Hana grumbled under her breath, "That's partially why I don't have any upfront spying planned. It was too obvious that way, but if I met them on the street and we just _happen_ to start up a conversation. Well, no one to blame there and, bonus point, no disqualification!"

"You've really thought this out," Riko blinked at her before she struggled to her feet and looked to Kiyoshi, "What do you think?"

Hana followed Riko's example and stood off the floor, which was pretty gross now that she thought about it. She turned to Kiyoshi just in time to catch his reply, "It's kind of underhanded. I don't approve of it… but I can see the advantages."

"I'm not going to lie and say it isn't," Hana shrugged before bending down and picking up her backpack, "But I think it's a good idea, especially if we want to get through Inter-High."

"What about your friends?" Kiyoshi frowned at his blanket wrapped feet, "I'm sure they wouldn't like you spying on their school or being tricked into participating in this."

"…" Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, Hana smirked at the injured boy, "I think most of my friends are used to that by now— it'll piss the miracle babies off though, but that's the fun part." _Until they murder me._

Meanwhile, Riko was tapping her fingers against her skirt as she thought about her answer. Hana teetered on her feet awkwardly while she waited for the other girl's decision. When the coach finally spoke, her voice was challenging, "Can you really do this?"

Hana didn't pause, "Definitely."

"Alright," Riko's gaze was sharp on Hana's form, "You can skip a practice before our game against Shinkyo Academy and try your plan out. If it works, we'll talk about the rest of the schools when the time comes. If it doesn't work, you have to run laps for the next three weeks."

"Alright!" Hana threw her fist up, only to freeze and hastily bring it back down to her side, "What was that last part?"

Folding her hands under her chin, Riko smirked at her, "If it doesn't work, you'll be running laps with the basketball team for three weeks. You have to do it Monday too, since you wandered off after practice Friday."

"Man,"Hana's shoulders deflated and Kiyoshi's chuckle didn't help her mood whatsoever. _Why'd I join this team?_ With a scowl, she turned to the floor and grumbled, "I shouldn't have even asked—"

"What was that, Imamura-chan _?"_

"Nothing!" Hana snapped to attention with a nervous smile. Riko's aura was threatening and Hana shivered when the coach glared at her. _Time to vacate the hospital_. Turning to Kiyoshi, she bowed her head, "Well! I should head on out now! Bye, Kiyoshi! Bye, Riko!"

"See you soon, Imamura," Kiyoshi smile grew as he watched the girl dart to the door. It slammed against the wall and he heard a few nurses shout out in surprise; no doubt she had nearly run them over. Now that Imamura was gone, he turned to Riko, "You're going to let her do it?"

"Why not," Riko shrugged, but Kiyoshi knew her well enough to see the gleam of calculation in her eyes, "It'll be great if she can do it, but if not, I'll use this to test her abilities."

"That works I guess," Kiyoshi leaned back against his pillows with a rueful smile, "Imamura's kind of scary, isn't she?"

"She could be," Riko agreed, but she let out a little chuckle at the thought of the prickly manager, "But she's kind of clueless at the same time."

"I don't know about that," Kiyoshi leaned deeper into the uncomfortable hospital pillow. A few moments of silence passed before he broke it, "Could you go get me another desert cup? I think Imamura took mine."

Riko slapped a hand to her face and groaned.

* * *

Shinkyo Academy

She'd snuck off Seirin's campus as soon as the final bell rang. Since she had a lot riding on the success of her plan, _stupid sadistic coach,_ Hana decided to go with the easiest method first. It basically involved going to the rival campus, squinting, and bumping into people like a fool. Her target's face was plastered in her mind, thanks to Momoi's wonderfully detailed notes, and Hana stood off the bench she'd been waiting at. _Let's do this bitches!_

The campus of Shinkyo Academy was pretty nice, Hana would give them that. Staggering down the walkway, she squinted around and plastered on a frustrated expression. Most of the people around her moved out of the way, but a few more curious ones watched her awkward dance. With her eye twitching, Hana forced herself to remain in character. It wouldn't earn her any points to attack students head on.

It was another couple of minutes spent stumbling before Hana found her target. Brown hair, hazel eyes, and reading a book as he walked. Which was absolutely _perfect._ Bringing a hand up to cover her eyes, Hana pretended to scan the ground as she slammed straight into the captain. Like planned, her shoulder connected in his chest with a heavy thud.

The one thing she hadn't planned for was how damn _hard_ the hit would be.

Letting out a curse, Hana tried to straighten herself, but it was no use and she fell onto her ass. Her lips twisted into a tiny scowl. She could already feel the bruise forming on her poor, delicate posture. The captain was there an instant later, squatting down in front of her with an offered hand. Hana blinked up at him and forced the annoyance off her face.

"Are you okay?" the captains voice probed and he scanned her over for any injuries, "I'm so sorry! I can't believe I didn't see you!"

Grabbing the offered hand, Hana blushed as he helped her to her feet, "It wasn't your fault… I can't see more than a foot in front of me. You haven't seen a pair of glasses lying around, have you?"

"Can't say that I have," the boy glanced around the area, "Do you remember when you lost them?"

Letting out a dejected sigh, she began, "I came to surprise my friend after she got out of class… I know I had them then! But then she wandered off and—I just don't know!"

The captain let out a little chuckle before patting her shoulder good naturedly, "Hey, don't worry too much about it. If you need help—"

"Oh! Thank you, but it's alright. I've got another pair at home," Hana waited a moment before altering her interruption, "Actually… I'm supposed to meet my friend at the park soon and well, since I can't see, would you mind helping me?"

"Yeah, I'd love to," he rubbed a hand through his brown hair before cracking a grin, "I kind of owe you anyway, since I knocked you over and everything."

"I told you it's not your fault," Hana let out a soft giggle before squinting up at his face, "I never got your name?"

"Tanimura Yūsuke," a charming smile spread across his face, "How about you?"

"Imamura Hana," if her grin was a tad too sharp, the boy didn't notice, "I'm so glad I ran into you, Tanimura-kun!"

xXxXxXx

The next day, the whole team was waiting for the first game of Inter-High to begin. Almost everyone was present, including the invisible boy; they were just missing the presence of one very peculiar manager. That tidbit seemed to drive the captain insane and Hyuuga was hovering over Riko, waiting as the coach called the now familiar number.

"Imamura-chan," Riko's voice was deceptively sweet when she put the phone on speaker, "Where are you?"

"I'm here!" The manger chirped back before answering a voice in the background, "No, it's okay Tanimura-kun! It's just my coach—"

"…" The team blinked at Hana's words, "Tanimura-kun?"

The giggle Hana released had several of the boys jerking back in shock, "You'll meet him in a second! We're almost there, Riko-chan!"

The call ended moments later. Everyone was staring at the phone in disbelief and, in a few cases, horror. Kagami in particular looked disgusted and his eye twitched as he stared at the phone. Surprisingly, Fukuda was the one to break the silence, "What was _that_?"

"I believe Imamura-san is planning something," Kuroko butted into the conversation, "Although I have no idea what it may be."

"That brat is always planning something," Kagami scowled before crossing his arms over his chest, "If she gets us in trouble, I'm going to kill her."

"Poor manager," Izuki hummed in the background, "poured plans?"

Ignoring the _terrible_ pun, several of the teammates echoed Kagami's sentiment, but Hyuuga's eyes were focused on the coach. Riko was fiddling with her whistle and avoiding eye contact. That always spelled trouble. Hyuuga quirked his brows, "What's with that look, coach?"

"Oh, nothing!" Riko chuckled awkwardly, her hand going to the back of her neck, "It's just I know what Imamura-chan's doing! No need to worry."

"…" Hyuuga didn't cease, "What's she doing?"

"I gave her permission—"

The group fell silent when the gym door opened, broadcasting their manager and the subject of their past worries, Papa or otherwise known as Dad. There was also another boy walking in between the two. The height differences were disconcerting. Meanwhile, Hana let out an overly hysterical giggle, which was a terrifying image in itself. She was talking with the boy in the middle and the tallest player, Dad, wore a look of resignation.

"What —" the freshman trio gaped, "What?!"

"Huh," Riko tilted her head as she watched, "I didn't think she'd actually be able to talk to one of them."

The second years exchanged weary looks and Hyuuga voiced his concerns, "What's she doing?"

"Starting a so-called espionage ring."

" _What?!"_

Riko couldn't answer, because at that moment, Hana lead her two new friends over to her teammates. The shit eating grin on her face only grew at their looks of astonishment. Well, except for Kagami and Kuroko. The look Kagami was giving her could best be described as _done with her shit._ Beside him, Kuroko looked exasperated. It was strange on his normally neutral mask.

"Hello," Tanimura greeted her team with an easy smile, "I'm the captain. Nice to meet you guys."

Hyuuga repeated the greeting wearily, his eyes flickering between the rival player and their manager. Tanimura broke the awkwardness a second later, "By the way, did you guys really beat Kaijo? Imamura-chan told me about it, but I just couldn't believe it."

Slamming a hand to her eyes, Hana groaned. _Stupid testosterone, stupid egos, stupid men._ Even though he twitched, Hyuuga answered the others question easily, "It was just a practice game."

"I see," Tanimura smiled and Hana smacked her hand against her face repeatedly. _I hate basketball players_ , "I guess the Generation of Miracles aren't as strong as we thought."

"Tanimura-kun," Hana grumbled under her breath, "Don't trash talk."

Ignoring the rising tension from Seirin, Tanimura patted her on the shoulder in apology, "Sorry, Imamura-chan. I don't mean anything bad about it."

Hana didn't have anything to say that wouldn't blow her recently developed friendship, so she plastered on another smile and held her tongue. A wary glance at the rest of her team showed their anger and she let out a silent wail. They were going to kill her for this. She just knew it.

The present tension could kill an elephant and it only got worse when her new giant friend lifted Kuroko into the air. _Great, just god damn great._

"Children shouldn't be on the court," Dad muttered as he stared Kuroko down. Hana didn't feel that much sympathy; she'd received the same treatment. At least she was nice enough to keep her laughter to herself, unlike the rest of the team.

"Honestly, I'm starting to get annoyed," Kuroko deadpanned, instantly shutting everyone up. Dad put Kuroko down shortly afterwards and her ghostly friend stared her down. _I'm sorry!_ Hana tried to mentally project her apology, but it seemed her superpowers didn't want to work.

"Well," Hana drawled out. Her eyes darted over her agitated teammates before glancing to her two new friends, "I think we should get ready now. I'll see you later okay, Tanimura-kun?"

"Gotcha," the rival captain ruffled her hair before leading 'Dad' off to their side, "Good luck!"

She turned after them and raised a desperate hand. The atmosphere behind her was _not_ happy. When Hana turned around, she was greeted by several frustrated looks. _Awh shit._ She took a step back before raising her hands up sheepishly, "Look, I just ran into them—"

Riko interrupted, "They know about your plan, Imamura-chan."

"Then why are they glaring at me?" Hana _eeped_ when Kagami stomped up and grabbed her by the back of her shirt before dragging her flailing body to the bleacher, "I just needed to get information on them! I didn't know they'd say that!"

No one responded and Hana was left to pout on the bleacher. She turned her puppy eyes onto Kuroko as a last resort, but the blue haired boy just turned away. Hana could _swear_ she saw a smile though. When Fukuda sat down beside her, she turned her dramatics onto him, "This is completely unfair."

The other freshman just let out a nervous chuckle, glancing at the black cloud above her head warily, "Sorry, Imamura-san."

While she was sulking, the game started and Riko came to the sidelines. Eyeing her coach, Hana patted her on the shoulder before handing over the napkin. Of course, her coach couldn't just accept the damn napkin. No, Riko had to stare at it and Hana was forced to let her arm dangle awkwardly in the air. _Like an idiot._

"…" Riko blinked slowly, "What is that, Imamura-chan?"

"The notes," Hana waved her arm, "I didn't have any paper— but Tanimura had a surplus of napkins."

"… _why?"_

"He likes being a clean eater? Hell, I don't know! I wasn't about to ask!"

"Alright," Riko hesitantly took the napkin from Hana's hand before scanning over the information, "I want to question you about this new friendship, but I feel like I'll just be more confused."

"Probably," Hana didn't deny the claim, she was pretty confused too, "He's a nice guy, when he's not on the court apparently— helped me find my glasses yesterday."

The two teams were lining up and Hana watched while Riko digested the information. Her green eyes landed on Kuroko, who looked strangely determined, before trailing over to the drug addict, better known as Kagami. The guy's eyes were bloodshot _again_ and Hana mentally decided to buy him some eyedrops.

"You don't wear glasses," Riko muttered, her eyes scanning over the last line of writing, "How'd you pull that off?"

"…" Scooting away a bit, Hana shrugged, "I found some. He kept stressing out about it, and well it was starting to piss me off, so they happened to appear."

The hand that slammed on top of her head was completely unwelcomed. Riko seemed to think otherwise and the coach returned to her position sporting a smug smirk, "Good work on the information. We'll see if it helps during the game— if not, you remember your punishment."

"It'll help," crossing her arms over her chest, Hana huffed, "Stop doubting me; I'm going to prove all you ass-hats wrong."

Ignoring the insult, Riko hummed in time with the whistle that signaled the start of the game, "I hope you can."

The game started. Shinkyo got the ball off the bat and scored the first point. All with the help of their massive player. Hana's face twisted into a weird grimace as she watched, _I know we can beat them… but do the players know?_ Meanwhile, Tanimura decided to talk to Hyuuga _again._

"You're not one of those hard-working teams, are you?" Tanimura smirked and Hana let out a whine. She was going to get so much shit about this. Why did he have to keep being a dick? "Just get a foreign player, it makes everything easier when you just pass them the ball."

"What?" Hyuuga frowned when he turned to the Shinkyo captain. His eyes trailed onto the bench and Hana ducked, trying to avoid any possible projectiles. Tanimura continued to talk shit before Hyuuga shut him down, "If that's your policy you better be prepared. We've got our own strong players."

And, as if they planned it, Kuroko and Kagami made eye contact across the court. Hana deadpanned, _such dramatics..._

Despite the overconfidence of their opponent, Seirin was handling this game with finesse. Well, whatever finesse the boys could muster. Since most of Shinkyo's skill came from their foreign exchange player, Riko put Kagami on the goliath boy. _Smart move,_ Hana hummed before smirking when her eyes landed on Tanimura, _he's obnoxiously overconfident._

"Hey coach," Riko tilted her head over her shoulder at Hana's call, "Their captain underestimates us. You know what that means?"

Riko turned back to the game with a contemplative expression, "He's not prepared. It'll be easy to get through their defense as long as Kagami stays on Dad—"

"I was going to say we could rub it in his face," Hana scratched the back of her head with a shaky smile, "But that works too; much more official-ish."

Riko's sigh was ignored when Hana turned her attention back to the game. The rest of the time passed quickly; Shinkyo's offense was overwhelmed by Kagami's defense and the rivals defense was being thwarted by a sneaky Kuroko. As the seconds ticked down, Dad began to get frustrated. His eyes darted around the court and his long arms began to shake.

"Haha!" Hana jeered, catching the attention of the others on the bench, "I called that!"

"…" Koganei leaned around Fukuda to raise an eyebrow at her exclamation, "What are you talking about, Imamura-chan?"

"Look!" She waved a hand to the court when Dad missed another goal, "The pressure's throwing his aim off! That means I don't have to run laps!"

"Huh…" Furihata blinked before looking back to the court, "Run laps?"

Folding her arms across her chest, Hana smirked, "My notes were right; I knew he'd get flustered with all the attention. He did the same shit this morning when I kept annoying him— I thought he might not like me, but this makes much more sense."

"… if you say so."

The buzzer for the end of first quarter rang and the players merged around the bleacher, Riko addressing the assembled group. Going to fetch the water bottles, Hana distributed them while Riko spelled out the new game plan. Kuroko was going to be subbed out and Kagami was ordered to remain on Dad. _Hopefully Kagami's monkey powers can keep up with him._

As the team ran back to the court, Hana plopped down next to Kuroko, "You seem pissed. What's up?"

Kuroko didn't look away from the game, "I don't enjoy being underestimated. The fact that they implied our win against Kaijo was pure chance also annoyed me."

"True, I guess," Hana unconsciously laid her hand on top of Kuroko's before kicking her feet out, "That's going to happen a lot though, at least until we prove ourselves."

"They'll understand soon," Kuroko finally looked away from the court to address her, "Although, I'm curious about your relationship with Shinkyo's captain."

Squeezing his hand once, Hana let out a derisive snort when Kagami dunked the ball again, "Not a relationship. I'm getting info. The best way to do that is to befriend people, enemies or not."

"You plan to do this with every team?"

"Yup," Hana clucked her tongue, "Soon I'll have an army of basketball players. Think of all the information I can get then!"

Crushing Hana's soul, Kuroko blinked in that condescending manner he'd perfected, "I'd rather not."

Instead of replying, Hana just stuck her tongue out and removed her hand. Her attention turned back to the game and the show down between Papa and Kagami. For some reason, it reminded her of those dog competitions. You know, when they jump over really tall fences? Yeah, those. Not to mention Kagami's psychotic laughter was freaking her out.

The score was at 51 to 50, Shinkyo leading, when Hana turned back into reality.

"Does he have springs in his shoes?" she blinked when Kagami jumped again, "Because holy shit, that's high."

Apparently, her question was deemed stupid because no one answered her and the buzzer signifying the end of third quarter rang. Kuroko was subbed back into the game, bringing the advantage back to Seirin with his magical ghostly passes. The score kept shooting up when the incredible happened. When the final buzzer rang, Kagami blocked Papa's shot like the monkey he was.

One second the redhead was on the ground, the next he was hanging a good two feet in the air.

"…" When everyone cheered, Hana sweat-dropped, "That… is actually terrifying."

Her thoughts were invaded by images of a leaping Kagami. Do you understand how scary that is? Those bloodshot eyes, the crazy laugh, the demonic smile? All of that shit jumping toward you? Yeah, well it's a petrifying thought. _Worse than imagining him with a sniper, that's for sure._

The thank you's commenced moments later before all the players began to pack up. Trailing behind Mitobe, Hana headed toward her little grouping of teammates. She really wasn't looking forward to explaining her espionage ring plan. Especially to _Hyuuga._ She was about to open her mouth when a savior interrupted her. _Thank you mister goliath._

"I lost. Please play good for me next game," Papa walked up to Kagami, mouth pressed in a firm line. His tone changed pretty quickly, "I mean, you idiot! You're an idiot!"

"Huh?!" Kagami took a step forward. All the while, Hana covered her face with a hand in an attempt to muffle her giggles. Papa's trash talk continued for a few more seconds before Tanimura came up and dragged his player away.

As he walked, the captain threw back a quick, "Bye, Imamura-chan!"

"Bye, Tanimura-kun!" The rest of Seirin turned toward her at the sound and Hana took a hasty step back, "Okay, I know this looks bad. But I'm just getting—"

Face still twitching from his encounter with Papa, Kagami spun toward her, "What was that?! Don't talk to our opponents so familiarly!"

"Oh, we are not doing this," her explanation dried on her tongue only to be replaced by indignation. _He better not be telling me what to do_ , "Did you just tell me I can't be friends with people?"

The tick growing on his head, Kagami growled, "Not our opponents!"

"We're just friends! _Not even real ones!"_

"Did you hear him?!"

"Okay! So?! He's a dick, but _friends_ don't care about that!"

"You're not friends!"

"Yes, we are!"

" _Imamura!"_

" _Kagami!"_

Meanwhile, the rest of the team watched the argument with wide eyes. It was like a tennis match of insults. A _very_ loud tennis match. With each response, the two hot heads stepped closer to one another and no one knew how to quell the growing storm. Finally, Hyuuga decided to step forward, but Kuroko beat him to the punch.

The ghostly player smoothly stepped into the middle of their argument, "Imamura-san, Kagami-kun. Please calm down."

"I'll calm down as soon that stupid—" Kuroko placed his hand over her mouth, shutting Hana up. Her green eyes narrowed on his impassive blue, but Kuroko didn't remove his appendage. She heard Kagami laugh in the background, but a quick jab from Hyuuga silenced him. _Good._

"Thank you, Imamura-san," Kuroko still didn't release his hand even as he started walking toward the door. Hana flailed, but his calm façade never left, "You and Kagami-kun are both very volatile. You two should be nice to another."

If Hana could respond, it'd sound something like this, "I'm going to bite your hand off, Kuroko!"

But alas, she could not. Instead, she allowed herself to be led away from Kagami. It was better to get your revenge when the subject least expected it. _Which is something Kagami and Kuroko are going to be learning very soon…_

The rest of Seirin stayed on the court, watching in shocked silence as Kuroko calmed the beast. Well, except for Kagami. The poor tiger was curled up on the floor as he held his recently punched stomach. Hyuuga stood above him, wiping his hands off with a closed-eye smile. When Riko finally forced her mouth shut, she brought a palm up to her eyes and groaned.

"I'm going to die early…" The coaches groan turned into a whine, "And I can't even punish her!"

Izuki pulled a quizzical expression, "Why not?"

"Because! Her notes actually helped!"

"Really?" Izuki blinked and stepped closer to Riko. In response, she handed him the crumbled napkin and he skimmed over it, "… This is a lot of information."

"I know," Riko whined again before turning her eyes to the ceiling, "I didn't think she could actually do it!"

"Huh?" Koganei interjected himself into the conversation, "Why do you sound like that? Isn't that a good thing?"

Throwing her hands up, Riko explained, "No! Because I said she could do it with the rest of the teams!"

"Oh…" Koganei trailed off before his eyes widened and his face paled, "So, you mean she's going to do this with all our opponents? Like with Kaijo?"

"Yes," Riko whimpered as she buried her face in her hands. The rest of the team exchanged bewildered looks, this was going to be _interesting_. The freshman trio looked at each other before breaking out into simultaneous shrugs. They sure joined a weird team.

It only got stranger when Kagami crawled back up to his feet and stomped after Kuroko. His muttered insults were quite vivid and surprisingly detailed. An action which prompted the rest of the team to run after him, hoping to prevent their manager from an early death.

It was a shame no one noticed the person situated above them in the stands.

If they had, his green hair would have surely drawn some attention.

* * *

 **Reviews**

 **Sapphire : Thank you!**

 **VerumUmbria : I thought about that, honestly. But I've got an idea for her goal and I wanted it to actually mean something. Anyway, thank you for your review!**

 **NinjaPenguinLover : Thank you for another review! I can't wait for all the GOM meetings, but Murasakibara is going to fun! Thank youuuu for sticking with me!**

 **Saltqueen : Ahhh! Thank you! I'm glad you like it!**

 **Crystalviolet24 : Awh, I'm glad you liked it. :) I like Kuroko too! He's so much fun to write. I think Kagam is warming up to her too, it'll be fun to write their relationship. I'm planning for it to be a very… vocal type of friendship. Finally thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it too!**

 **Anmeluvr21 : Awhhh! Thank you for that! It means a lot! Ahh!**

 **030artistic : I'm glad you think so! Thank you!**

 **ArchangelKoriel : Ugh, I know. I wanted her to pick up on the flirting… but then I have to keep her character in mind and remember she's a fourteen/fifteen year old girl who's been constantly surrounded by boys. Like… that doesn't give you the best understanding of relationships. Anyway, thank you for your review!**

 **AngelicHallows : Awwwwh! Thank you, your so sweet. I'm glad you liked the date too! I was worried a bit with the jokes, but I'm glad they were well received! And feel free to ship away! Ship to your hearts content! I don't mind one bit, in fact, it's a huge compliment! Ahh, again thank you for your great reviews.**

 **FrizzleChicken : Thank you, friend! Sorry for the lack of GOM this chapter, but I have plans for them that I hope you'll enjoy! And thank you, I took your advice to heart and oh my gosh, I've never had so many ideas! It's great! Thank you! Thank you!**

 **R edRaspberries: She did steal! Oh no, hahaha. I'm glad you liked this chapter, thank you so much!**

 **JeyaMendoz a: Thank you for another wonderfully long review! On Kagami's part, I have no intention of putting them together… I was thinking more long the lines or an Aomine and Momoi relationship. But if you want to ship, then by all means ship! I'm glad Kise is your otp, but I'm going to do my best to make you into a so called shipping mess! Haha! Anyway, thank you again!**

 **Jazmem e: Awwwwh, that was sweet! Sorry for the late update, but thank you for your kind review!**

 **Nailyu : Thank youuuu!**

 **ADDBaby : Maybe you should write an AU story about GOM birdies, I'd read the hell out of it. But yes, flufffffffery! Fluff! Enjoy it. It'll fly away soon… Maybe ;) anyway, thank you!**

 **ArchimedesAckerma n: So glad you liked it! Awh, I love hearing stuff like that! Thank you! I appreciate your reviews and thank you for doing them!**

 **Volley-14-nerd: Epp! Thank you!**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuch : I'm glad you enjoy the friendship! Also, glad to hear the fluff was adorable! Yay! And I do think they like her… but that might just be because I want them too… Anyway! Thank you!**

 **Animegal1998 : Thank you!**

 **Yogarsu108 : No worries about the reviewing! I'm just glad to receive one, so thank you! Honestly, I'm so happy you don't know who to ship her with! Like that is my goal, man! Anyway, awesome review! Thank you!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Okay, so! Longish AN ahead! Another chapter! It's got second-string in it, so if you guys were missing them, they're back. It's basically just a friendship/romance chapter to help move things forward naturally, but there's a bit of plot shoved into the crevices. On another note, it's really late... so I think the chapter is good, but I'm half dead so it might actually be pretty bad! If it is, I'm sorry! Eep! Also, there's a quote in here that I don't own... I got it off google so I don't know who it belongs too, just putting that out there.  
**

 **Anyway, thank you guys. Seriously. All this support really encourages me, and if I'm feeling down I go back and read the comments. It pumps me up right away. You guys are the best. _Thank you._  
**

 **Warnings:** **Bad language, violence, poopy doopy editing.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**_

* * *

Old and New

Her heart was racing, her palms were sweating, her mind was mush and all Hana could focus on the fatigue rushing through her veins. Her surroundings faded away into a mass of technicolor and the air reeked of sweat. An annoying thumping sound came from behind her, but Hana couldn't look if she tried. Her limbs _refused_ to move _._

"Oh my god," she panted, hands resting on her knees, "Stop moving so fast!"

"It's not my fault you're out of shape," Uoya taunted as he shot the ball into the net, "Seriously, I thought you were used to this. Don't you run?"

"I haven't had time!" Hana gasped before standing up to full height. Forcing her body to cooperate, she pouted toward her old friend. He had caught the rebound and situated himself under the net with an _obnoxiously_ smug smirk, "I've been swamped! I'm barely getting into bed by midnight!"

"Is high school that hard?" Uoya jogged back toward her and passed the ball as he pondered, "You never complained back at Teiko."

"The work's harder; the last chemistry test murdered me," Hana rolled the ball between her palms thoughtfully, "But it's mostly my manager stuff. I never realized how much time it took to be sneaky."

Hana started to dribble and Uoya spread his arms out, blocking her passage, "What're you doing? I thought you grew out of all that."

"Nope," Hana ducked under his arm and raced past him. Doing a layup at the goal, she waited for Uoya to retrieve the ball before replying, "I think I've gotten worse actually. Since Inter-High began I've been to every single school we've played against—"

"You're kidding me," Uoya deadpanned, dribbling in front of her, "How many?"

"Only a few," Hana feinted aroundn him, slapping the ball out of his hands. Twisting on her heel she shot it back into the net, "Ha! Two in a row!"

"You can't just slap it! Use some skill!" Uoya raced toward the rebound, narrowly avoiding Hana's hands, "You're the worst at fouls, Hana-chan."

"You're just a sore loser," she stuck out her tongue, waiting as Uoya dunked the ball. The metal hoop clanged and his lanky body hung in the air before crashing to the ground, "Since when could you do that?"

"Since I got promoted to vice captain—"

"— Vice captain?!"

"Oh," Uoya blinked as he brought the ball to his chest, "I didn't tell you?"

"No!" childishly, Hana stomped her foot on the ground. Green eyes narrowed on her companion, "I've missed so much shit… You know how some women have girls nights? We need one of those."

"Want us to paint our nails? Watch movies?" Uoya mocked her, but he smiled to show his amusement, "We could have pillow fights."

"I was wondering when you'd hit puberty—"

 _And there goes the Uoya volcano_ , "Hana-chan! No!"

Smirking, Hana motioned for Uoya to pass her the ball. He did, though not without a very stern glare, and she bounced it hard against the court. Eyeing the orange ball, she voiced her thoughts, "What's happening over there? How's coach?"

"He's good," Uoya shrugged easily, "I visit him sometimes. You know his wife finally had a daughter?"

"Seriously?!" The ball stopped dribbling as she gaped, "Man, that sucks for the kid."

"… _how?_ "

"She has four brothers!" Hana palmed the ball and passed it to Uoya, _hard_. He caught it before it slammed into his chest, but the smacking sound still rang out, "Think about when she starts dating! They're going to riot!"

"Hana-chan, his oldest son is six," Uoya tucked the ball under his arm, rubbing his palm distractedly, "You throw too hard— You were trying to hit me, weren't you?"

Smirking at the accusation, Hana flapped her hand around to signify her pervious point, "That's even worse! He'll be six years older than her boyfriend… hopefully."

"What's with this conversation?" Uoya quirked an eyebrow. His eyes were curious, but there was a knowing tone inside their brown depths, "Is this like a subconscious way to tell me you've suddenly become interested in boys?"

 _We are not going down that road!_ Hana skillfully ignored the question, "… you sound like a therapist."

"You're not answering the question," Uoya sung his words out as he walked toward her. Throwing a _disgustingly sweaty_ arm over Hana's shoulder, her younger friend continued to tease, "It's alright! Hormones are a good thing!"

"Ughk!" Hana tried to dart away, but it was no use. Uoya had grown some serious muscle since joining first-string, "Go back to being a terrified underclassman! I don't like this sassiness!"

"Can't change it now," with a laugh, Uoya removed his arm, "You did it!"

"I didn't know it'd get this bad!"

"Your fault—"

The metal gate clanged open, making both teens turn their attention sideways. The site that greeted them was… unexpected to put it simply. Ever since Hana had known him, Iseri was always impeccable. He never had a strand of hair out of place, his uniform was always neat and tidy, his face was always deceptively calm. But oh no, not today.

"I didn't think you were going to make it—" Uoya was cut off by Iseri holding a hand up. The silence lasted a moment longer before the gate clanged open again, this time with a surprise guest. A hurricane of blonde came tumbling in before Iseri was grabbed by the shoulders. Hana blinked, _that explains his appearance._

"Iseri-san!" tears dripped off the guest's cheeks, "You left me behind!"

Iseri stared at the blonde while taking a step back, "You didn't get off the bus fast enough."

"My bag was tied to the chair!"

"Oh," Iseri deadpanned, "That's unfortunate."

"You were trying to get rid of me!"

"Clearly," Iseri merely raised an eyebrow as he walked away from Kise toward the thunderstruck Hana. The black-haired teen grabbed her wrist before pulling her in front of him, "He's your friend. You deal with him."

"What—" Hana gaped at Kise. He was still ranting about the unfair treatment, but when Hana spoke he perked up, "Kise? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Imamura-cchi!" Kise smile was blinding and Hana could do no more than blink at the sight, "Did you know Iseri-san is in my class? I didn't realize who he was until yesterday!"

"That's interesting…" Hana was still drawing a blank. _Shouldn't he have noticed that earlier?_ "But why are you here?"

"Well, I heard him mentioning that he was going to see you—"

In an uncharacteristic move, Iseri interrupted, "He eavesdropped on my conversation with Uoya-kun."

"That's not true," Kise waved the accusation off before turning back to Hana. He tried to keep the smile plastered on, but Hana caught the edge of irritation, "Anyway, he said I could come with him!"

"…" at his words, Iseri let out a soft hiss, "I said no such thing."

"You're so grumpy, Iseri-san," Kise pouted at the other teen. Meanwhile, Hana watched their interaction contemplatively. Iseri was obviously infuriated, but Kise, on the other hand, looked hurt. Except Hana could tell that was complete bullshit. Judging from the gleam in the blonde's eye, Kise knew exactly what he was doing. _The only question is why?_

"This is weird," Uoya began to dribble the ball again. Obviously trying to play off the awkwardness, he continued, "It's like Teiko all over again…"

"Huh?" now Hana was even _more_ confused, "Are you talking about the game back in second year?"

"That's not what we're referring too," Iseri intoned, his eyes never leaving Kise, "I'm reminded of their attempts—"

"Iseri!" Uoya cut him off with a sharp look, "It's not a bad thing, Hana-chan. It just brings back some interesting memories. So, Kise-san?"

"Yes?" Kise moved his recently narrowed eyes away from Iseri and gave Uoya an angelic look, "I'm really sorry for interrupting!"

Iseri hissed again, "No you're not—"

"Okay, seriously not now," Uoya grumbled under his breath, "Anyway, since you're here Kise-san, want to play with us? That's what we were planning on doing."

"He doesn't—" Iseri started.

But Kise finished, "Sure!"

Ever thought you entered a parallel universe? Like, things look normal, but they _aren't?_ Because that's how Hana felt at the moment. For one, Iseri was _never_ angry! Like ever! For two, why was Kise here? Sure, he went to the same school as Iseri… but _still_. Watching Iseri twitch, again, Hana darted up toward him and held him back. _My questions need some answers!_

"Okay," she lowered her voice in hopes Kise couldn't hear, "What the hell is going on?"

Scoffing, Iseri flicked his hand toward Kise in obvious annoyance, "That… _thing._ He followed me here, Hana-chan. How do you put up with him?"

"It's an acquired taste," Hana admitted without shame. She pressed on, "I don't get it though… I didn't think you had a problem with him?"

"That was before I had direct contact with the _neanderthal."_

"Uhm…" Hana took a quick step back. _What happened to calm Iseri?_ Besides, what do you say to that? On one hand, Hana definitely got where Iseri was coming from. But on the opposite hand, she was a little fond of the hyperactive blonde. _A little,_ she assured herself, _it's just a little._

Luckily, she was saved from replying by Uoya calling everyone to formation.

When she came to the half-court line, Kise gave her an excited smile before transferring it over to Iseri. It lost a bit of shine then, but Hana didn't call him out on it. Beside her, Iseri folded his arms across his chest and waited for Uoya to begin the game. Apparently, he had placed himself on her team.

Hana winced when she looked between the two groups. _This… is going to be literal slaughter._

"Alright…" Uoya seemed to agree with her thoughts and examined the two teams distractedly, "First to five wins?"

"Awh," Kise gave Hana a desperate look, "Can I be on your team, Imamura-cchi?" _I wish you were, trust me._

She'd seen the miracles play. She'd been up close and personal in fact. Hana had even played with Aomine once! Albeit, completely half-assed, but that's beside the point. But right now, she felt a bit like a rabbit facing off the wolf. _Is this how all their opponents feel?_ Hana grimaced, _I don't understand how Kagami enjoys this_.

"We're already in teams, Kise-san," Uoya chastised, being the peacemaker of the rag tag group, "Just— just shoot the ball." _… elegant._

With the grace expected of a model, Kise let out a dazzling smile, "Gotcha!"

Like Hana had predicted, the little game was an absolute slaughter. Since Iseri had quit playing basketball in school, he wasn't nearly up to Kise and Uoya's standards. Then there was Hana, the little manager, who couldn't even see above their _damn heads!_ It was like a modern retelling of David versus the Goliath.

Uoya scored the first point in a second flat. Complete with the customary _woosh_. When Iseri retrieved the rebound, Hana tried to guard Kise. Keyword, _tried._ She couldn't even reach his freaking shoulders, how the hell was she going to block his passes? It was that problem that allowed Kise to score the second point.

The third point came during a face-off between Iseri and Kise. Iseri had traded places with Hana and was attempting to guard their goal, but Kise was quicker and the ball went into the net. Hana had never seen Iseri so incensed… it was a bit amusing. _Maybe my temper rubbed off on him more than we thought._ The fourth point came in much the same way.

Now the fifth point, oh man, the fifth point. Kise and Uoya both looked sympathetic by then, which pissed her off. Uoya hadn't even tried to block her pass! He'd just let her give the ball to Iseri with no trouble! Then, Kise had the audacity to toss her the ball instead of shoot! At that, Hana stopped dribbling and held the ball between her palms.

"Hey," she glared at the two assholes, "Just because we suck doesn't mean you get to stop trying."

"Hana-chan," Uoya tried to console her, but Hana just glared harder, "It's not like that—"

"We just don't want you to get tired!" Kise chirped from behind Uoya. His gold eyes were shining in mirth, obviously uncaring about the rudeness of their gesture, "You are a girl—"

Hana shut him up. Oh, she definitely shut him up.

Copying Kagami's first move against Kise, Hana launched the ball at the blonde's face. He caught it, of course, but his laughter was cut short when Hana stomped up to him. Digging her finger into the blonde's hard stomach, she growled, "Don't. I can be a girl and still kick your ass."

Iseri sighed in the background and Hana could imagine his annoyance, "Hana-chan… stop picking fights."

She turned around to snap back at Iseri, but a hand latching around her wrist distracted her. When she turned back toward Kise, he was looking down at her with a smooth smile, "That's not what I was implying, Imamura-cchi."

"…" that got serious really quick. Instead of replying to Kise directly, Hana yanked her hand back and hissed at the other team, "Whatever, just for that we're starting over! Come on, Iseri!"

"I'd rather not—" Hana grabbed him by the arm and dragged him toward the center court. The game started again moments later, and just like the first time, Hana and Iseri were slaughtered. At least this time, Uoya and Kise didn't make the same mistake. In fact, Kise seemed to play even harder, completely leaving Hana in the dust.

Fifteen minutes later, she was curled up in a ball, resting against the concrete. Iseri was just as tired, but he put on a strong face in an appearance of ease. Hana was just a tad bit jealous of him for it. Okay… a lot jealous, but whatever. Meanwhile, Uoya wore a rueful smile and his partner, Kise, actually looked a bit worried.

"Imamura-cchi?" Kise squatted down beside her head, his face painted in concern, "Are you alright?"

"I'm just dying," Hana huffed into the ground, "It's cool."

"We shouldn't have played twice," Uoya scolded from the background. Despite her aching lungs, Hana shot him the finger. He didn't say anything else. _Good._

"Awh," that was all Hana heard before she was lifted off the ground. Her body was pressed into a firm chest and she was assaulted with the smell of sweat. Ignoring the unpleasant smell, Hana looked at the ground before her eyes bugged out of her head, "I'm sorry, Imamura-cchi!"

"Uhm… you might not want to do that—"

"Kise-san, put her _down."_

"Woah," Hana yelped, reflexively throwing her arms around Kise's neck. It was an insanely high drop, in her opinion at least, "Shit! Why?!"

In a move that had Hana's hackles rising, Kise smiled mischievously, "You just looked so tired! You should probably rest your legs!"

"Kise! I'm going to—" Hana shrieked when he pretended to drop her, "Let me go!"

"Are you sure?" Kise repeated the fake drop. His eyes lit up when Hana screamed and a loud laugh passed through his lips, "I don't think you want me to!"

In the background, Uoya and Iseri exchanged looks. Both boys appeared to be annoyed, but they said nothing to hint at their displeasure. Instead, Uoya dragged a hand down his face before looking up to the sky. Iseri continued to watch his former manager flail and his mouth pursed into a thin line as her screaming got louder.

"Ugh," Uoya looked back to Iseri with a half-grimace, "This is weird."

Iseri agreed wholeheartedly, "I believe the correct term is sickening."

"Is this how you feel with your sister?"

"It is."

"… _great._ "

* * *

So, this was awkward. With a capital, A.

Eyeing the noodles in front of her, Hana trailed her eyes to the blonde sitting across from her. At her look, Kise gave her an excited smile, reminiscent of a puppy. On his opposite side, Uoya had a mouth full of noodles and scrolled through his phone and across from him, beside Hana, Iseri had his hands neatly folded in front of him. _A little family of basketball players… how quaint._

"So," Hana swallowed the lump of food in her mouth, "Did we go out to eat just to stare at each other?"

"It seems so," Iseri intoned before picking up his chopsticks and poking at his food, "It wasn't my intention to come here, but it seems Kise-san had other plans."

"Hey," Kise chirped back, "I was hungry! All that playing wore me out!"

"I'm sure," Iseri's voice was deadpan.

"Iseri-san," Kise let out a long whine, "You're so grumpy! Are you that mad I followed you?"

"Yes," while Iseri's voice was calm, he still stabbed into his noodles, "I'm also unhappy that you dragged me to your practice. It was unneeded."

"I couldn't just skip practice! Captain would punch me!"

Raising an eyebrow, Iseri stared Kise down, "There was no need to force me to come."

"Yes, there was," Kise's voice sang out, "You wouldn't have let me come!"

"Have you ever thought it's because I didn't want you to come?"

"Guys," Uoya finally put his phone down and stared at the two boys, "Can we not do this? Just get along, right Hana-chan?"

"Sure," Hana ducked her head to hide her amused smirk. Their bickering was actually pretty funny. _Now they know how I feel_ , "I would think you guys would get along though. Since you go to the same school and everything."

"That has nothing to do with my friend preference," Iseri sniffed. _I still love you, conscientious asshole._

"Isn't that why we're friends though?" Hana countered with a raised chopstick, "You hated me when we first met, but we grew on each other."

"Woah," Kise interjected himself, tired of being ignored, "You guys didn't like each other? That's weird, Imamura-cchi."

"Hana-chan is good at hating people," Uoya offered for her, "Don't you know that?" _Was that a double meaning I spied there, Uoya-kun?_

"Uhm," Kise suddenly looked uncomfortable at the subject change, "I guess so… it's true we didn't really get along at first."

"More like extreme mutual hatred," Hana scoffed. Her eyes landed on the table at the onslaught of memories, "Weird how we got here."

"I don't think it's weird," Kise's smile grew, obviously thinking about their first encounters too, "I'm glad it happened, besides, I could never hate Imamura-cchi!"

"…" Hana rolled her eyes, but her comment lacked any heat, "Sure, Kise." _Stop being so adorable._

When the table rolled into silence again, Uoya turned his attention toward Iseri, "Did you ever hear back from Kitano? He never showed up."

"No—" Iseri was interrupted by Hana's startled gasp.

"Shit! I was supposed to call him today!"

"That'd be redundant," Iseri gave her a sharp look for her interruption, "His phone is broken."

'Are you kidding me?" Hana gaped at Iseri before slamming her palms on the table, "No! I need him!"

"What?" Kise's head was rotating between the three friends, obviously confused, "Are you okay, Imamura-cchi?"

"Yeah," Hana began to shove noodles into her mouth. _Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go._ Unconscious of how gross she appeared, she began to talk, "I've got to go to Meijo tomorrow! Ugh, it would have been so much easier if he helped me!"

"Woah, Hana-chan," Uoya gawked at her, "Slow down!"

"I can't!" She shoved one last bite of food into her mouth, "I gotta plan now! I didn't want to plan!"

"Plan what?" Iseri commented, his eyes watching the new spectacle impassively, "Don't tell me…"

"Yup!" Swallowing, Hana smirked before grabbing her bag, "Meijo's next on the list. I've already got Shinkyo and Jitsuzen."

The atmosphere radiated exasperation and Uoya grimaced at the thought, "You shouldn't be this excited."

"Can't blame me," Hana jumped out of her chair with a flourish, "This is like my life dream come true!"

While the three boys thought over this new development, Kise was the one who turned to Hana first, "Do you need me to walk you back, Imamura-cchi?"

"Nah, thanks for the offer though," Hana gave him a genuine smile, "I'm glad I got to see you Kise. I'll text you soon, okay?" She turned to Uoya and Iseri next, "You two! Next weekend? Same place?"

"Got it Hana-chan," Uoya gave her a returning smile, but there was a hint of anticipation behind his eyes, "Be careful, okay?"

"Will do!" with that answer, Hana was speeding out the door.

Back at the table, Kise looked flabbergasted. He hadn't expected that new development and he was a bit disappointed that his evening plan was cut short. When he turned back to the other two boys, he almost did a double take to find them both staring back at him. His hand came up to play with golden locks to stifle his apprehension.

Choosing the nicest of the two, Kise turned to Uoya, "Well, I should probably head out now—"

"No, that's alright Kise-san," Uoya gave Kise a sharp smile before placing his chopsticks down, "This is kind of nice actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"Uoya-kun," Iseri scolded in a mild tone, "You're channeling Hana-chan."

"That's the point," Uoya smirked back at his old teammate before focusing his gaze back onto the nervous looking Kise, "Speaking of Hana-chan, how do you feel about her Kise-san?"

"Uhm…" Kise trailed off, looking toward the door hopefully, "She's my friend?"

"You don't sound positive," Iseri intoned, black eyes locked onto Kise's golden, "We just wanted to be certain your intention were honorable."

"My intentions?!" Kise gawked before slamming back into his chair. Was this an intervention?! Where had he gone wrong? How had he ended up here? This wasn't the plan!

"Yeah, those," Uoya's fingers tapped a little beat against the table, "We just want to look out for her, you know?"

"We wouldn't like a repeat of our Teiko years," Iseri's smile was chilling and Kise almost began to shiver, "Would we, Kise-san?"

He moved like lightning. One second Kise was there, the next he was gone.

Uoya and Iseri exchanged looks, but both boys were secretly pleased. They'd gotten there message across and they didn't even have to talk much. The miracles might be terrifying, but no one can survive the wrath of the over-protective-brother-syndrome. They ate the rest of their dinner with a sense of contentment.

Meanwhile at her house, Hana stared down at her phone. Her information on Meijo Academy was almost complete, but she wanted a little bit more. Her mind raced toward Kitano and Hana scowled at the reminder. Of all the times for the little brat to break his phone… Glancing back down at her phone, Hana's face brightened.

Her voice was reverent as she whispered, "Blackmail?"

That would prevent Kitano from denying her request. Jumping off her bed, Hana made her way toward her computer. When she plopped into her cushioned chair, she heard a distinct voice whispering that this was _a bad idea._ It sounded like Kiyoshi. She waited a few seconds. Doesn't a devil accompany the angel on your shoulder?

Minutes passed but Hana didn't hear anyone encouraging her to do the dastardly deed. _Okay, I must be pretty damn terrible to not even have a devil on my shoulder. Does that mean I'm my own devil?_

Ignoring the thought, Hana flipped her laptop open and selected the file she was looking for. A little pop up of all her former teammates appeared on the screen and Hana scrolled until she clicked on Kitano's name. When it loaded, her lips formed a smirk.

"Something not too mean," she scrolled down the first layer, "But it has to make an impact."

Finding the album for Kitano's birthday party during sixth year, Hana clicked the link. She scrolled past the images of birthday cakes and presents until she got to the part where they played truth or dare. _Perfect._

"Who knew Kitano would look so good in a dress," Hana folded her arms across her chest after hitting print, "It's beautiful."

Hopefully, Kiyoshi didn't find out.

* * *

It was safe to say that Kitano was not expecting his day to go like this. He'd been on his way out of the school, talking to another player as they headed toward practice. They were laughing and having a grand old time. Kitano was teasing the other guy about his new girlfriend and how sappy they were. You know, all in all, normal guy talk.

Everything was going smoothly until he passed a bush. He didn't even notice the bush, other than maybe a passing glance. Same with his friend. Instead, the two boys just kept walking. It was _when the bush started moving_ that Kitano finally paid attention to the suspicious shrubbery.

Nudging his friend with his elbow, both boys stopped to look at it. More specifically, the tennis shoes hanging out from underneath.

"The hell," Kitano breathed out and the bush abruptly stopped walking, "You're seeing this right?"

"Yeah… what's it doing?"

"Someone's in there—"

Kitano was cut off when the goddamn bush started _sprinting_ toward them. It was strangely threatening for a piece of vegetation. Both boys let out startled shouts before running like hell. It was too bad that Kitano tripped over his own feet when he tried to race after his friend. The quick trip to the ground was enough time for the shrubbery to descend upon him, scratchy leaves and all.

He struggled. Kitano struggled pretty damn hard in his opinion. He wasn't going to die, especially at the hand of a psychotic gardener!

Unfortunately, he was no match for the weirdo in the bush. His fate was further sealed when sharp little teeth dug into the skin of his arm. Despite the pained shriek he let out, Kitano felt a hint of relief break through his terror. At least he knew who the hell was in the bush. _But why's the she-devil here?!_

The teeth dug further into his arm and Kitano pulled on long black hair reflexively, "What are you doing here?! Get off me, Hana!"

"…" Hana let go at the sound of her name, but the bush didn't move from on top of him. The aura his former manager radiated was enough for Kitano to gulp and hastily let go of her hair. A few silent seconds passed before Hana smiled with demonic intent, "Hey, Kitano-kun. We need to have a chat."

"I swear I didn't do anything!"

"I know that," Hana purred and Kitano let out a curse, "I just want to talk about a new little proposition I thought of. You don't mind, right?"

Flash-forward one kidnapping later and Kitano sat across from her, eyeing the papers with contempt. Meanwhile, Hana continued to sip her delicious coffee. Seriously, this stuff was good. She'd have to remember this place… it'd be a long walk, but hell, it'd be _so_ worth it. A cough distracted her from her coffee high and Hana blinked back up at Kitano.

"Okay," the bald boy had a finger pointing at the contract, "If I sign this you'll get rid of the pictures?"

The contract was a masterpiece. Not trying to stroke her own ego or anything, but she clearly had the ability to be a lawyer. In that little pile of paper, Hana had included several clauses for Kitano to agree too. In exchange for her help with future opponents, Kitano would be agreeing to give her information about the members of his team, the abilities of past opponents, and insights into other games.

The pictures were just an insurance policy, you know, in case he flipped his shit. She wouldn't actually use them, but if Kitano knew she had them, he'd be much more inclined to agree with her.

"That was the plan," Hana sipped on her coffee delicately, "I'll hand them over to you as soon as you're done."

Kitano snorted before grabbing the pen, "What about the ones on your computer?"

"I haven't the faintest clue what you're referring too—"

"Bullshit," Kitano's hand moved fluidly, signing his signature at the bottom of the page, "Man… those were from _sixth year,_ why the hell do you still have them? Also, I get to delete them off your computer." _…_ _Yeah, not happening my friend._

"I've got a blackmail file saved for everyone," Hana snagged the contract away from him before pouting, "You crossed out some of it."

Kitano raised an incredulous eyebrow, "I'm not recruiting my teammates. What the hell made you think of that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She blinked at her friend, "They're thugs. Every mafia boss needs thugs."

"Yeah, how about no." _Well… there goes that plan._

"Party pooper," Hana scowled at him, but the twitch of her lips betrayed her, "So, just to make sure, you aren't mad? Because I really don't want to deal with your shitty attitude."

Her friend frowned down at the wooden counter top, hand rubbing his chin distractedly, "Not really. I kind of expected this eventually, you know? I would have done it without the damn blackmail though; that kind of pissed me off."

Okay, maybe she'd gone a bit overboard. Unable to stop the blush, Hana tried to explain her thought process, "I was trying to be authentic!"

"Yeah," Kitano scoffed, "I got that. Don't do it again."

"…" Hana let out a dejected sigh, but she didn't argue any further, " _Fine."_

Silence spread across the table. Her friend continued to frown thoughtfully, but his face began to even out the longer he waited. Meanwhile, Hana dug into her bag and retrieved the photos. Placing them down on the table, she slid them toward Kitano. It looked a bit like a sketchy drug deal… manila folder and all. _I hope this isn't a premonition._

Kitano let out a slow sigh before a tan hand came out and retrieved the envelope. He didn't actually open the folder, but his shoulders lost a bit of the tension at having them back in his possession. The silence continued and Hana finally allowed herself to twitch. _It's never good when temperamental people are quiet._

When he finally replied, Hana didn't like the shine in his eyes, "You're paying for my food."

 _That shit!_ Her mouth gaped, "What the hell, no!"

"Then next time don't blackmail me!"

" _Authenticity!"_

"No one actually does this, Hana! Stop watching movies!"

xXxXxXx

Today was the game between Seirin and Meijo Academy. Per the contracts request, Kitano was waiting for Hana and going to the game with her. While she was upstairs trying to look presentable, Kitano was sprawled out across her couch downstairs. They'd both been assaulted with calls from their respective teammates, but they both chose to ignore them. _They should know the deal by now, anyway._

The whole situation reminded her of Teiko; it was almost uncanny. It was also a bit heart breaking.

The nostalgia continued during the walk. Everything reminded her of her old second-string teammates and Kitano was _not_ helping. He kept bringing up old memories, crazy escapes, and recounts of hellish trainings. While it created an ache in her heart, Hana also felt a bit of relief. Even though they all went their separate ways, they'd never forget each other.

When they got to the sports complex, they were a bit late. By a bit late, Hana meant about five minutes late. Which wasn't a big deal! Nope, not at all… Unless your name was _Hyuuga._ Her hand was latched around Kitano's as they raced down the hall, her old friend spewing an endless amount of curses every time he tripped. Which was quite often. _Aren't basketball players supposed to be good on their feet?_

When they reached the correct door, Hana didn't even push it open. She just slammed her body into it, subsequently Kitano's too, and the two teens blew into the room with a loud _bang._ If the whole place could stop talking simultaneously, it just did. Every eye was on her and Kitano, emotions ranging from deadly anger to tired amusement.

"Shit, Hana," Kitano panted as he used her hand to pull himself back up, "You really know how to make an entrance."

"…" blushing, Hana drove her elbow into his gut, "Shut up. They just need to make automatic doors."

"You'd break them!"

"What? I wouldn't! Have some faith in me, man."

"For you? Hell no."

While the two former teammates continued to bicker playfully, they missed the appearance of a very irate tiger stomping toward them. He was shadowed by his shadow, a pun Izuki would have loved, but neither Kitano nor Hana saw their approach. In fact, Hana had just pulled Kitano into a headlock when Kagami's hand landed on her shoulder.

When Hana tilted her head up, she was assaulted with the feeling of dread. She tried to play off her shaking voice, "Hey, there Kagami. How you doing?" … _Please spare me._

"Imamura," the red head's voice was a growl, "Where have you been?"

"Well, you see, I was just running behind a bit. That's when I ran into my good old friend Kitano—"

"Imamura-san," Kuroko's appearance made her jump, but Kagami remained infallible, "It's rude to lie."

"What he said," Kagami let go of her shoulder before crossing his arms in front of his chest, "We told you to show up on time!"

"Okay," Hana stalled, trying to phrase her words in the most respectful way possible, "We are…" she fished her phone out of her sock, "Only five minutes late! Don't tell me your turning into Hyuuga-senpai, Kagami?"

"You're still late!"

"The game hasn't even started!"

"Hey," Kitano had slipped out of her headlock and now he stood behind Hana with a sharp smile, "Are you Hana's teammates?"

"We are," Kuroko intoned, causing Kitano to jump in shock. Her blue haired teammate simply blinked, "It's good to see you again, Kitano-san."

" _You?!"_ Kitano gaped at Kuroko before turning to Hana, "You didn't tell me he followed you!"

Raising her eyebrows in offense, Hana argued back, "You didn't ask!"

"I shouldn't have to!"

"Oh, so I'm a mind reader now?"

In the background, Kagami slowly lost the edge of his temper. Watching Hana argue with the strange boy was an enlightening experience. Was that how they sounded all the time? It was annoying as hell. Beside him, Kuroko wore a face of resignation as he watched the two interact with one another. It was the way the ghostly player's eyes scanned over the new guy that had Kagami speaking.

"You know him?" Kuroko turned at Kagami's words and the tiger inclined his head toward Kitano, "You called him by his name."

"I do," Kuroko tilted his head a bit, "He was one of her old teammates from middle school."

"Huh," filing that information away, Kagami turned back to the arguing pair. Placing a hand on Hana's head, he shoved her away from Kitano before addressing the boy himself, "You're with Meijo, right?"

While Hana clawed at Kagami's hand, Kitano eyed the red head with impassive eyes, "I am. I'm guessing you're on Seirin?"

"I am," outstretching the hand the wasn't holding Hana back, Kagami waited for a handshake, "Kagami Taiga."

Kitano grasped the other's hand in a firm grip, "Kitano Toki."

"Oh look," Hana commented thoughtfully, watching the two boys little pissing contest, "Your initials match!"

"Shut up, Imamuara _."_

"Hana. Shut up."

 _Okay, that was weird._ Her eyes widened as the two boys spoke simultaneously and Hana turned astonished eyes onto Kuroko. Her blue haired friend didn't seem surprised by the occurrence and he simply blinked at Hana's inquiring stare. _Thanks for your help, Kuroko._ Meanwhile, Kagami and Kitano were still sizing each other up.

"…." Hana twitched before taking a step back. When Kagami's hand fell off her forehead, she questioned, "Shouldn't we join our teams now?"

She could feel their stares drilling into the trio's back. The sharpest one, directed at her head of course, felt suspiciously like Hyuuga's and Hana was _not_ looking forward to that. Luckily, at her words, the two hot tempered boys backed off from one another with a brotherly head nod. _No, they can't be friends! Oh god! The horror!_

While Kitano and Kagami exchanged in a quick goodbye conversation, Kuroko stepped up to Hana and offered her a hand, "You're right, Imamura-san. We should go, Kagami-kun will follow."

"Alright…" as her cheeks pinked a bit, Hana slipped her hand into Kuroko's before tossing out a goodbye over her shoulder, "Good luck, Kitano! I'll meet up with you after the game!"

"Okay— Hey!" Kitano choked on whatever he was about to say, eyes bulging out as he stared after Hana's back, "Don't hold her hand!"

At the outraged cry from the rival player, Kagami turned back to Kitano with raised brows. The bald boy's vein was bulging from his forehead dramatically and his eyes stayed locked on their managers back. Shooting a glance back to Hana, Kagami returned his gaze back to Kitano.

"Oi," the red head's voice broke Kitano's stare, "You should go get ready. Your team looks like they need you."

Kitano turned toward his teammates only to blanch. He'd never seen them look so terrified and his captain paled when Kagami turned to look too. Kitano's team broke out into terrified shivers, only making Kitano's confusion more prominent, "What happened to them?"

Giving a shrug, Kagami replied, "We faced them before."

"What—" Kitano cut himself off when Kagami turned away from him. The bald boy's eyes narrowed on his back before Kitano stalked toward his teammates, "That guy…" Kitano scoffed, "It's like another miracle in the making. Great."

After a thorough lashing from her irate captain, Hana was sulking on the bleacher. She was sensing a pattern in the making. Even Riko gave her a pitying look and that was saying something! It seemed like everyone on the team approved of her information gathering except for Hyuuga. Maybe the guy had more morals then Hana thought?

The players lined up and Hana deadpanned at the look of absolute fear on Meijo's faces. In the middle of the line-up, Kitano was looking between his teammates with astonishment. The whistle blew and the game started. From point one, it was thoroughly in Seirin's favor. Watching her old friend flounder against her old friends, Hana had to suppress a wince. _I should have warned him or something._

The quarters passed by quickly. Each time the whistle blew out, Seirin had amassed at least fifteen points. While Meijo looked exhausted, Seirin was still going strong. Eyeing Kitano, Hana slipped away from her teammates and made her way to the opposite sideline. The only one who noticed her was Mitobe, and since he didn't talk, Hana's escape went unpunished.

Popping up next to the Meijo bleacher, Hana hung back. It wouldn't do for the other players to see her. Much less the guy whose wallet she stole, Kurkawa or something like that. When the final whistle rang out, the Meijo players made their way to the sidelines and Hana made her move.

" _Kitano,"_ she hissed, drawing the attention of her old friend. When he came toward her, she enveloped him into a tight hug, "You did good."

"Sure," Kitano's voice sang with self-pity, "Hana, we lost 41 to 108."

"Yeah, but you tried," she tightened her arms around him before resting her head against his chest, "Even though you lost, you seriously improved."

Though he scoffed, Kitano patted her on the back, "Thanks. I know you're just saying that, but still."

"I'm not," removing herself from the hug, Hana stepped back and gave him a once over, "You've got better muscle structure, you didn't miss a single shot, you even stood your own against Kagami and that's saying something. Guy's a monster."

"I noticed," with a slight smirk, Kitano trailed his eyes over to her new teammates, "They like, flock to you or some shit."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Nah— holy shit."

"Huh?" Hana blinked at the abrupt change of pace, "What is it?"

"I was just kidding when I said that," Kitano's voice was weak as he stared over her shoulder, "I wasn't serious."

"I know that—" Hana was cut off by Kitano grabbing her shoulders and turning her around. The sight that met her eyes was a group of orange. In the middle of the orange lump stood a proud head of green and Hana gawked. It took a few moments to manage a reply, "He looks like a carrot."

"Hana, seriously?"

"It's just an observation!" Hana defended herself before quieting as Kagami stomped toward Midorima. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but the handshake Kagami offered was apparently a ploy and the red head scribbled something out across Midorima's palm.

"Think you should head over there?" Kitano's voice broke her out of her observation, "Not that I'd complain if Midorima got his face punched in, but disqualification would be a pain to deal with."

"You're right," her voice was distracted while she watched, "Are you going to hang around or head home?"

Kitano just shrugged, "Depends on how long you'll be."

"We've got a game after this," Hana admitted, frowning when Kuroko came up to join Kagami, "That kid. What's with him pissing off people taller than him?"

"Don't know," Kitano admitted. It was silent for a moment before he tossed his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into a side-hug, "You know, no matter what you do, I'm here for you."

 _What?_ Hana paused and turned her eyes up to Kitano's, "What do you mean?"

"You can't be that blind," Kitano blinked down at her. His face quickly changed into a look of exasperation, "You are that blind. Are you kidding me?"

"Obviously not. Since I have _no idea_ what you're talking about!"

"You've got gooey eyes," Kitano deadpanned, "I don't know which one it's directed at, hell it could be both, but you're all weird. Like those fangirls back at Teiko."

"I am _not!"_ Hana slammed her elbow into Kitano's gut, smirking at his cough of pain, "I'm not gooey eyed, man that sounds disgusting. Anyway, I'm not!"

"…" when his pained moan trailed off, Kitano brought a head to his forehead, "You know, for a girl that likes to know everything about people, you sure don't know shit when it comes to yourself."

"You… you are a dick," she wasn't blushing, no, it was just hot in here, "Since when did you know so much?"

"I'm pretty familiar with wanting someone you don't think you can have," Kitano ruffled her hair before shoving her shoulder forward, "You better go to your team. That black-haired guy is all up on your man."

" _Kitano!"_

"Talk to you later, Hana!" Kitano had already started to walk away, but he shot a smug grin over his shoulder, "Remember, if you get hurt I'm down to beat some ass."

With a pout, Hana stared after him, "Jerk."

Turning away from her old friend, Hana turned back to the show off. Kitano was right, Kuroko was being assaulted by a black-haired guy. Squaring her shoulders, Hana put on her best bitch face and marched forward. She could deal with this guy, she could deal with Midorima, she could deal with it all. _And I can do it all without making so-called gooey eyes!_

"Kuroko!" Hana called right before coming to a stop in front of her blue haired friend and his assailant, "Who's this?"

Kuroko blinked, "I'm not sure."

"Oh," well that made things awkward. Turning to the other guy, Hana repeated her question, "Who are you?"

"Takao Kazunari!" The newly named Takao smirked at her, "And if I'm guessing correctly, you're Imamura-chan?"

"…" _what is this, the twilight zone?_ Trailing her eyes over to Kuroko, Hana waited for a look of approval or _something._ When he didn't offer her anything, she turned back to Takao, "That's me. Mind telling me how you know that?"

"Shin-chan talked about you," Takao removed his arm from around Kuroko's shoulders and gave her a sly grin, "I didn't know he had such a cute girlfriend though~"

"Girlfriend," Hana deadpanned. Her eyebrow was steadily climbing up her forehead, "Well that's a first. I would have thought he mentioned how much of a pain in the ass I was."

"Nope!" Takao took a step toward her, sharp eyes trailing over her outfit, "You know, he checks your horoscope. Especially after he came to watch you guys at the preliminaries!"

"Cool," what else was she going to say? The fact that Midorima came to watch didn't really surprise her. He went to the practice game against Kaijo after all. Studying Takao, Hana asked her next question, "So you two seem pretty close. Shin-chan? Never heard that before."

"Imamura-san," Kuroko cautioned from the background before lacing his hand around her own, "I don't think you should—"

"She's trying to induct me into her spy ring!" bringing a hand to his chest, Takao let out an excited chuckle, "I've got to say I'm honored, but I have to decline!"

Her heart stopped for a minute. _What? There's no way…_ How had he known? Green eyes trailed over Takao in thought and a second passed before she growled out her findings, "That little carrot! He eavesdropped!"

"…" Takao collapsed into giggles, "Carrot! Ha!" His laughter was cut short when Hana ripped her hand away from Kuroko's and began to march toward Midorima, "Hey, wait!"

She ignored him, anger steadily climbing as she marched. Her sights were set on Kagami and Midorima who were both staring each other down. Distractedly, Hana registered the words written on the bespeckled teen's hand, but she pushed the curiosity down in favor of indignation. _Eavesdropping! No! I am the sneaky one!_

"Okay," when Hana got close enough she cut in front of Kagami. Ignoring the tiger's growl, she glared up at Midorima, "As a fellow eavesdropper, I understand the temptation. I get it, honestly. But—" she took a step closer until she was face to chest with the shooter, "Don't do it on my team!"

"Imamura," Midorima's voice was calm, but Hana sensed his annoyance by the way he pushed his glasses up, "I had been hoping to avoid confrontation with you."

"Confrontation? With me?" Her upper lip pulled into a snarl, "I could say the same to you… you stupid carrot! Everything would have been fine and dandy if you hadn't intervened with my shit!"

His green eyes flashed down at her, "I don't have the patience for your meddling. None of us do—"

"You had enough patience to spread the information around," Hana's voice went back to suitable volume levels, "And I'm not meddling. I'm part of a _team._ I help my _team."_

"I'm doing the same," Midorima continued to speak in a monotone, "I'm simply ridding my team of your useless distractions."

 _His face looks mighty bruise-able._ "If you weren't so damn tall—"

A hand landed on her shoulder, freaking Kagami, and Hana was forcibly moved beside him. The red head shot her an annoyed look before turning toward Midorima, "So you watched us? You're that scared?"

"No," Midorima looked away from Kagami dismissively, "I was expecting to see your defeat."

Bristling, Hana hissed from beside Kagami's arm. Apparently, the red head was of the same mind set because he took a threatening step toward Midorima, "Don't underestimate us."

"I wouldn't waste the effort doing so," Midorima turned away from Kagami and his eyes searched for his teammate. When they landed on Takao, he began to walk away with one last, "Your fate is sealed. There is nothing left for you to do."

 _Him and his stupid horoscopes!_ Hana growled after him, "Fate is for those too weak to make their own destinies!"

Midorima froze, Kagami froze, everyone in the whole universe seemed to freeze. All eyes were on Hana, and this time, every emotion displayed the same wide-eyed surprise. It lasted all of ten seconds before Izuki started cracking up in the background with Takao quickly following. Hana's face flushed, but she continued to glare after Midorima even when the green haired teen walked away.

"Imamura-san," Kuroko spoke from beside her opposite shoulder, "We should join our teammates."

She allowed Kuroko to lead her away, face still flaming. Okay. That had been lame and she was regretting it completely. _Midorima hadn't even reacted!_ The one time she says something meaningful, and everyone laughs at her! Even the stupid tiger was chuckling under his breath as he followed behind them.

When they joined up with their teammates, Hana ignored Izuki as he bounded up toward her. The senior's eyes were flashing with pride, but she was still focused on Midorima's back. While she was definitely pissed he got the upper hand on her little plan, another part of her felt a different fear.

In a fluid movement, Midorima turned around and his eyes scanned over their little group. His green connected to her own and Hana felt her heart stop for the second time that day. While Midorima looked indifferent, she saw that edge underneath his mask. Whatever it was, she didn't know, but it scared her a bit.

Listening to Izuki's onslaught of pun masterpieces, Hana felt her thoughts go astray.

 _Midorima wouldn't tell anyone besides his team… right?_

* * *

 **Reviews!**

 **AngelicHallows : ****Hey, no worries! It's not selfish at all! Thank you for sticking with me through all this, though. The kind of support you give me really helps! I'm glad you liked last chapter! Honestly, I'm so glad! I was really worried you guys as readers would think her idea was too theatrical, so I'm glad to hear some support. Finally, thank you for another great review! I promise I won't give up on this story! I'm here for the long run, no matter how long it may be!**

 **ArchimedesAckerman:** **Ahh! Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! And yes, Riko and Kiyoshi's scene was one of my favorites last chapter. Again, thank you!**

 **Jazmeme:** **Yup, finally back! Sorry for these longs waits! I'm glad you liked last chapter, thank you so much! Seriously, thank you!**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuc h: ****I love the evil schemes, except sometimes they kind of hurt my head. Hana's a very hard character to keep up with. I'm glad you like Kuroko and Hana, I think they're cute too! And yes, poor Kagami, I've got lots of plans for that guy. Thank you for another great review!**

 **Anime1Freak : ****Awh, thank you!**

 **Naliyu:** **It holds lots and lots of chaos, so much chaos. Anyway, thank you for another review! I'm glad you liked last chapter!**

 **Crystalviolet24 : ****Ah! Happy to hear I got Kiyoshi correctly! It's a bit hard jumping from crazy Hana to calm Kiyoshi. On the subject of Tanimura, let's hope he doesn't know about Hana's plan! Thank you for another great review. Your support for my story has been amazing and I'm so thankful for it!**

 **NinjaPenguinLover : ****It would have been funny for her to lick him. Might happen in the future? You've got me thinking about possible scenes. And dude, ship her with whoever you want! I don't mind one bit! Thank you for your review!**

 **ADDBaby:** **Ahhh! I'm glad she's perfectly, imperfect. Makes me happy. And it could be hardcore henry? I've never seen the movie, le gasp. Anyway, thank you for another review. On a side note, I'm still thinking about those birdies. They haunt my dreams in the best (cutest) way possible.**

 **Amgs:** **If I ever get the time to write it, I will! (I make no promises tho, so please, please don't be disappointed) Thank you for your review! Also, thank you for your support! It really means a lot… like seriously thank you!**

 **Volley-14-nerd:** **Yes! Espionage ring! Glad you liked it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!**


	28. Chapter 28

**_I have no words to express how sorry I am for how late I'm updating. I could apologize and think up excuses for days, but that isn't enough. All I have to say is sometimes reality doesn't mesh with fantasy and it makes things hard to do. Anyway, new chapter! Longest one yet to make up for the long wait. I may be out of touch, but I hope it's still comprehensible. Thank you all for the amazing support you've given me and this story. You guys are amazing._**

 ** _Warnings : Bad language, violence, and (barely edited at all) editing._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._**

* * *

Some Type of Rush

 _Maybe… no. I could… Nope, that wouldn't work either. Huh. Computer programming can't be that hard, right? No, no. I need something quicker._

Hana squared her shoulders and stared down at the notebook. She sat cross legged in a semi-circle of papers, pictures, and horoscopes. A pen was clutched in between her teeth, suffering the brunt of her frustration. With twitching fingers, a nervous jingle tapped itself out across her thigh and Hana reached for a photo, only to retreat at the last second. _That wouldn't work._

All in all, this shouldn't have been such a strange occurrence. She did this every night, well most of the time, but it was today's location that contributed to the oddity.

When the basketball team arrived to the gym, they'd been expecting to practice. They surely hadn't been expecting to see their manager sprawled out in the middle of the court. The image was made even more eerie with the absence of light, causing Hana's phone-light to twist her face in shadows. Everyone came up short.

"Imamura-chan?" Riko took the first step into the darkened gym. The coach's hazel eyes scanned the hunched over manager, "What are you doing? How long have you been here?"

There was no reply. Quirking an eyebrow, Hyuuga followed Riko's footsteps into the room, "Imamura?"

Again, no reply. The rest of the second years took wary steps into the room and Tsuchida wandered off to go turn on the light. Meanwhile, the first years didn't quite want to venture into the dungeon-like atmosphere. The trio stood a good five feet away from the door, shivering. Kagami stood at the head of the group and, quickly losing his patience, stomped in after his seniors.

While all this had been going on, Hyuuga walked the rest of the way toward the manager. His eyes narrowed on the messy bun of black hair and a palm pushed it forward, "Don't ignore your sempais, brat."

He hadn't been prepared. An earsplitting screech echoed out across the gym and every team member present jumped. In the background, someone let out a manly squeal. Meanwhile, the manager sprang forward and was now brandishing a pen in her hand, pointed suspiciously toward his head. Bringing a hand to his heart, Hyuuga's wide eyes locked onto Hana's own.

"The hell!" Hana spluttered, but her pen didn't lower, "Don't sneak up on people! Kuroko is bad enough!"

"You should have heard us!" Hyuuga tried to control the way his hands shook. While he regained his bravery, he noticed the white headphone hanging out of her ear, "You were listening to music this whole time?!"

"Uhm," the manager's voice was surprisingly timid, "… no, it's uhm, horoscopes? I'm covering all my bases."

It got quiet, making Hyuuga's anger sizzle out. Hana was blushing, pen firmly tucked back between her teeth. The whole team stared at her in bemusement and she brought a hand to her eyes. _Man… I should have just gone with plan one._

"Imamura," Kagami deadpanned, tried of the continued silence, "What's with all this junk?"

"This junk," Hana swiped a hand out toward her mess of papers. Secretly, she was pleased with the conversation change, "Is not junk. It's a very detailed plan and it's very wonderful and it's great…"

Tsuchida finally found the light switch and the gym was bathed in fluorescent light. Hana's green eyes squinted against the glow, but she didn't take her gaze off Kagami's face. He didn't look overtly impressed with her explanation. _Well, seems like we finally agree on something._

The rest of the team looked around the gym now that they could see again. The mess of papers spread a few feet farther then they'd seen. Speaking of seeing, there was no telling why their manager turned all the lights off, but Kagami suspected demonic inclinations. In the silence, Kuroko broke off from his hiding place and stepped toward Hana before bending down and retrieving a paper. Blue eyebrows rose.

"Imamura-san," Kuroko blinked down at her once he was done reading, "I don't understand."

Rolling the pen with her tongue, Hana glanced up at Kuroko. _Now or never,_ "That makes two of us."

"What?" Koganei followed Kuroko's path and he too looked over her mess, "I thought you said this was a plan?"

Wincing, Hana turned her blushing cheeks away. The pen clicked against her teeth, "It's supposed to be! But I can't figure it out!"

"…" Riko joined the ever-growing group standing above her. The coach tilted her head a bit before asking the big question, "Weren't you planning on going to Seiho today?"

"Don't remind me," Hana scowled down at the paper, "God damn it, Midorima."

Before anyone even had the chance to breathe, Hana began to rant, "Seriously, he just had to go and mess everything up! The plan was already hard as shit without him knowing, but _now!_ Now he knows! My whole mojo is thrown off! This wasn't supposed to happen…" Hana took a deep breath before peeking up at her dumbstruck teammates, "I need help."

"…" for a second, all was still. It was broken when Riko crossed her arms over her chest and smiled down at the manager, "I was wondering when you'd hit a wall."

Hana twitched, "Riko _,_ not helping—"

"Get ready for practice, Imamura-chan," Riko smirked, "We'll figure this out after we're done!"

 _What._ Hana blinked, "Really?"

"Really, brat," Hyuuga stood in the background, wearing his own smirk, "We're a team. Now get up and clean this junk up."

"… okay, but since we're a team, shouldn't we all—" Hana cut herself off with a step back. Hyuuga's glare was really something else, "Just kidding! Just kidding— seriously!"

xXxXxXx

Practice passed quickly. Hana remained on the sidelines, pouring herself into the information. The notes she'd received from Momoi touched on the team a bit, informing her about their defensive dominance, but other than that, she had nothing. Zip, zilch, nada.

One green eye twitched and Hana barely resisted the urge to throw her notes away. _I didn't even have a chance to go to their school… what am I going to do?_

That was the main cause of her annoyance. Because of the fast-paced schedule between the games and two inconveniently timed tests, Hana had missed her opportunity for spying and then when she had time, her plans fell through. Now that _pissed_ her off. _Stupid Midorima and his stupid meddling… making my brain go all fuzzy and shit._

Her focus was so intent on the half-assed notes, that Hana didn't even notice the shadow that fell over her. Pen scratching out yet another plan, she jolted at the cough. Startled green eyes stared up and connected with the bemused gaze of the coach.

"So," Riko placed a hand on her hip, "How far have you gotten?"

Pulling a grimace, Hana rehearsed her information, "I've got the defensive highlights, I can't make sense out of them though. Errr, the names and ages of all the teammates, but no helpful characteristics. That's about it."

"And what about Shutoku?"

"Huh?" Hana frowned up at Riko, "We play them after Seiho, right? I haven't got to them."

"... Imamura-chan," Riko's smile twitched and Hana caught the edges of fire sparking in her eyes, "We play them both on the same day." … _Shit._

"Please tell me you're kidding," Hana's face faulted when Riko continued to stare at her, "You aren't kidding. Oh hell—"

"How'd you forget that?! Oh, come on," Riko grabbed the notes out of Hana's lap, ignoring her squawk. "You guys need to read the schedule… I swear," The coach grumbled as she began to walk away and Hana darted after her back, "These are pretty detailed… I thought you didn't have a chance to study them?"

"I can't take the credit for that," Hana admitted when she caught up, "They're from my friend, she's the manager at Too."

At that, Riko's face pinched into a frown, "And she knows all this? That's not good… especially since Too's in our district."

"Momoi's a hell of a lot better at spying than me," ignoring the sting of the truth, Hana continued her explanation, "She was the manager for the Generation of Miracles too."

"Hmmm," Riko handed the notes back to Hana, but there was a glint in her eyes now, "You'll just have to be better."

… _Sure._ Hana scoffed, "Easier said than done. Where are we going?"

While the boys were playing, Riko led her away from the team. Hana hadn't even noticed until they came toward the locker room doors. Her coach pushed the door open and Hana startled at the inside. _So messy…_ Ignoring her thoughts, Hana turned her skeptical eyes back onto Riko, "You aren't going to kill me, right? Because if I die in a glorified closet, I'll be pissed."

"Don't be so dramatic," Riko's voice was tinged in humor and the coach walked toward a television. With a determined grin, Riko turned back toward Hana, "I've got videos from last year's Inter-High and you're going to watch it."

A beat of silence passed before Hana deadpanned, "I am?"

"You are," Riko pulled out a folded-up chair and motioned for Hana to do the same, "I said I'd help you, so here we go."

"But it's just a video," Hana pulled out a chair despite her confusion, "It's not like I can hear what they're saying—"

Grabbing the remote, Riko pressed play and shot Hana a smug smile, "I thought you were better than that. Can't you read body language?"

Hana blinked, _oh._ Had Midorima messed up her game that bad? Everything was a jumbled mess inside her head, but Riko was right. She didn't need to exert herself with dramatics; she had this in the goddamn bag. Hana retrieved a pen with a smirk of her own. _I've got this shit._

Shooting her coach one last look, she focused in on the video, "Thanks coach."

The passing of time was marked by the minutes rolling on the DVD. They'd gone through half an hour of footage before Riko went back out to do her coach duties. Meanwhile, Hana stayed behind and categorized the players. Sparing a quick glance down at the piece of paper in her lap, her mouth twitched into a grim smile.

The page was dotted with beautiful, if she said so herself, drawings of the team members. But the importance laid in the chart. It was a correlation between players and the number of fouls against them. It was safe to say the numbers were… _high_.

Another _awesome_ discovery came when she recognized one of the players. It was the same boy that had fouled out Kise back in middle school, which while mildly interesting, the information served a greater purpose. Because he played against Teiko, she had his file saved in the archives. It paid to be a hoarder sometimes.

A few clicks on her phone later and his name came up easily, thus letting Hana record his past information before merging it into the new.

That was the revelation that sparked her next plan and when Riko came in to check on her, Hana waved her concern off. The manager temporarily vacated when the boys came in to change, but she was back in front of the TV moments later. Now Hana was left alone in the locker room, submerged in darkness _again._

"…" her eyes flicked between her paper and her phone. A slow smirk crawled over her face as she stared at the information, "I've got you."

Minutes passed with everything continuing to be fine and dandy until the locker room door opened. Hana had been gloating in her new sense of accomplishment, but it was all shot to hell when the door creaked and the atmosphere turned unnerving. The scene was horror movie worthy. God, she could see it now. _The poor virgin girl, trapped in school, about to be sacrificed to a demon._

 _Not happening, Satan_. A pen was clutched in her fist before Hana ducked to the floor as the door opened fully. Her heart was beating out of her chest, eyes locked on the intruder. _What was that technique? Slam the palm into the nose?_ A foot stepped into the room and Hana moved.

She jumped to her feet, pen held out defensively, "— Kuroko?!"

"Imamura-san," The ghostly player blinked at her before his eyes transferred to the pen, "Could you put that down please?"

"…" she dropped it to the floor, still gaping at Kuroko. _Not a demon, just a ghost_ , "Uhm, shit. Sorry? Why are you here?"

"I forgot my book," Kuroko neatly sidestepped her. Her blue haired friend walked toward his locker before opening it. When he turned back to her, there was a question in his gaze, "Have you been here since practice?"

"I have," heart still beating wildly, she moved toward the bench, "Riko was helping me out with my problem." Trying to forget about her over reaction, Hana changed the subject, "What book is that?"

"A Sliver of Principal," Kuroko glanced down at the book with a small smile, "Have you heard of it?"

Digging through her mind, Hana concluded that no, she hadn't heard of it. She said as much, "Nope, what's it about?"

"Two men are framed for murder, but one is innocent in the case. They're each trying to incriminate the other," he flipped the book onto it's back and glanced at the summary, "It's a crime novel. Do you enjoy those?"

"Haven't had the chance to read one," Hana shrugged thoughtfully. The plot seemed promising though, "It sounds interesting though."

"Would you like to borrow it after I'm done?"

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" Kuroko shook his head slightly and a smile graced Hana's face. Realizing how giddy she sounded, she tried to smoother it, "Yeah, that'd be cool. Thanks, Kuroko."

"It's no problem, Imamura-san," Kuroko put the book into his bag and his eyes traveled up to her own. It seemed her attempt at nonchalance had been pointless because Kuroko radiated mirth, "I'm interested in your opinion of the story. Maybe you'll be able to solve the case."

"Maybe," Hana smirked a bit at the thought, "Have you?"

"I believe so," her friend's lips tilted in response. Silence prevailed while both teens were lost in their thoughts. When she glanced back at Kuroko, his eyes were suddenly probing, "How do you feel about this?"

 _Huh?_ Hana frowned, "About what? The book?"

Kuroko took a step toward her, but his attention was trapped in a forgotten memory, "Playing against our old friends. I haven't had a chance to see if you were okay with it all." _… oh._

"I'm okay with it," her eyes tilted toward the ground and Hana grimaced a bit, "But they weren't really my friends, not like they were to you. It was… different, I guess. You guys were a big part of my life for a while, so I get where you're coming from, but I thought— shit. Ignore me."

"Imamura-san?" Kuroko's face remained calm, but the shift in his eyes betrayed his concern, "It's alright to talk about it."

"I know," a smirk was forced onto her face and Hana tried to diffuse the newly made tension, "But I'll ramble and I don't really want to sound like an idiot anymore then I have. Which I'm doing a lot lately. Maybe I need to drink less coffee— See? Rambling!"

Kuroko's mouth opened, prepared to say something, but the creaking of the door distracted them both. _Thank you, gods of fate, I will forever worship you._ While Hana let out a relived sigh, a tired looking tiger walked into the room only to stop dead at the sight of her. His face of horror was kind of flattering, "Imamura?"

Raising an eyebrow, Hana's smirk became genuine, "Hey, Kagami. Long time no see."

"Not long enough," Shaking off his surprise, Kagami scoffed before marching to his locker. It opened easily and he shot Hana a glare over his shoulder, "The hell are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out," she shrugged her shoulders a bit before getting an idea. Her following words were tinged in mischief, "You should clean out your locker. It's getting kind of nasty in there."

The locker slammed shut and Kagami turned to her in fury, "You were in my locker? What the hell, Imamura!"

"Shit!" Hana jolted backward at his advance. Her smirk was quickly replaced with a pacifying smile, "I wasn't serious! I respect your privacy whole heartily! I'd never do anything like that, nope, never. Definitely not me!"

"Don't joke about that—"

Whatever Kagami prepared to say was interrupted by Kuroko. The ghostly player stepped into the conversation, head tilted thoughtfully. He glanced between Hana and Kagami before speaking, "Hello, Kagami-kun."

Crazy eyebrows furrowing, Kagami turned toward Kuroko, "You! Don't scare me like that! Since when have you been here?"

"I was in here when you arrived," Kuroko deadpanned in that secretly condescending manner of his. For a moment, Hana wondered if he ever got tired of being invisible. It had to be exhausting. Kuroko's voice broke up her thoughts, "I left something behind."

"Whatever," Kagami grunted, but his face lost the dredges of anger. Red eyes glanced at Hana, then at Kuroko before scanning the room, "You two were alone in here?"

Kuroko blinked innocently, "What are you implying, Kagami-kun?"

 _Oh, that shit is definitely implying something._ Forgotten for the moment, Hana's face erupted into a blush. That damn tiger! She was tempted to smash his face in, but that would have been futile. Kagami was bigger than her and he'd probably rip her head off or something. Taking their lack of attention as a chance to escape, Hana reached behind for her bag.

When it was safely in her possession, she interrupted the boys little staring contest, "Well, thanks Kagami. Way to make the whole thing awkward as hell. Were you hoping for something different?"

Hana took a bit of joy in the way Kagami floundered. Honestly, it was a beautiful sight, "That's— that's not! Imamura!"

"I'm joking," Hana smirked when Kagami growled. His cheeks were still tinted pink, so she gave him some well-deserved mercy, "Don't get pissed. I've got to head out anyway, so I'll see you guys later."

Muttering under his breath, Kagami looked away, "I hope not."

"You know you love me," Hana promptly danced away from his swatting hand. Her bodyguard would accept her eventually. Ignoring Kagami's curse, she turned to Kuroko, "Thanks again, for the book and all."

Kuroko had been eyeing the conversation between the two hot-heads in consideration, but his attention focused on Hana when she spoke. He gifted her a soft nod, "As I said, it's no problem, Imamura-san."

"Alright," hefting her bag onto her shoulder, she motioned to the television, "Coach was letting me watch Seiho's old games; you might be interested in it. Watch their feet."

At that, Kagami's eyebrows shot up and he marched toward the remote. Kuroko remained thoughtful in the background, eyes following Hana as she walked to the door. Catching his gaze, she gave him a wave before pushing the door open. One foot was out when she paused at the sound of a voice.

"Imamura-san," Hana tilted her head around. Blue eyes studied her ruffled appearance, "Please try to sleep tonight, you look tired."

"…" she stared at him in surprise before turning away. Her shoulders were a bit stiff, but her mind was stuck thinking over the goodbye, "Will do. See you, Kuroko."

The fluttering in her stomach startled her and she almost missed a step. Fingers twitching along the handle of her bag, Hana continued her departure. The feeling was familiar, multitudes of romance books highlighted it. That information didn't comfort her a goddamn bit.

As the door closed behind her, she heard Kagami question his friend, "What's with the tension?"

Hana didn't stick around to eavesdrop.

* * *

She could never make fun of Kagami again.

Staring into the restroom mirror, Hana poked at her eyes half-heartedly. The dark circles that encased them looked raccoon-ish, almost comically so. It was a sign of fate. She had done the exact opposite of what Kuroko told her to do, spending her whole night surfing social media for facts about their next opponents.

That had been a wasted effort. Other than a couple boring status updates, basketball players seemed to avoid the internet like the plague. They were there, of course, but almost all of them had their profiles listed on private. A big pain in the ass that was. At least she had her old notes, making three of today's opponents accounted for.

Whatever, she'd save her trump card in case the opportunity arrived. Back to the problem at hand. Hana arrived to the stadium early, hoping to make up for her lack of spying by talking to Seiho before the game. It was a half-assed plan, but it was better than nothing. Maybe she'd run into Midorima too? _Yeah, let's not._

Letting out one last sigh, Hana gave up. There was no chance in hell she could get rid of the circles. Her nose wrinkled and she hissed at the mirror before turning on her heel. The metal door slammed behind her, catching the attention of other passersby, but Hana continued to stomp away.

"Should have had more coffee," her voice trailed off, "… Coffee."

New destination in mind, Hana began the search for the concessions area. They had to have one, right? People like coffee, so they should sell it. _Right?_ Her eyes scanned around the area desperately and landed on a sign before her whole demeanor perked up. _They have to have it._

Flash forward fifteen minutes later and Hana's palms laid splayed across the plastic counter. Her mouth was opened in a distressed gape as she stared at the plexiglass menu. The attendant glanced at her warily before trailing his gaze to the line of people behind her, "Miss?"

"How can you not have it?" She whispered, wide eyes locked on the teen, "It's coffee. _Everyone_ has it."

"I'm sorry," the boy stuttered a bit before regaining control of the situation, "But you're holding up the line—"

"…" pausing, Hana peeked over her shoulder. Yup, definitely holding up the line. Several men and women looked back at her with various states of displeasure with their small children giving her _very intimidating_ death glares. She was about to apologize when she landed on a pair of laughing orbs at the back of the line. Recognizing the face, Hana made a split decision.

"I'm sorry," the apology was shoved out of her mouth hastily as Hana made her way toward her new prey, "Didn't mean to! Seriously, sorry!"

Her target laid a few feet ahead and the laughter slowly drained out of his eyes, only to be replaced by curiosity. As Hana got closer to him, Takao raised both eyebrows. He obviously hadn't expected that. The realization made Hana speed up her steps, courage coming from his surprise.

"Hey there," her feet landed neatly in front of him and Hana smiled up at the point guard, "How's it going, Takao-san?"

"Imamura-chan," Takao tilted his head, a silky smirk lifting the corners of his lips, "You're here early, where's the rest of your team?"

"Don't know," lifting her shoulder in a shrug, Hana let a smooth ring lace through her voice. If he wanted to play, she'd play too. _I'll win this game_ , "It doesn't matter anyway, you're just the guy I wanted to see."

Eyes widening, Takao brought a hand to his heart in faux astonishment, "Don't say that! Shin-chan will murder me!"

"My apologies," Hana continued to smile, but her thoughts raced. The longer she played with him, the better chance she had to lose. It was time to go in for the kill, "So, you remember my offer?"

"You make it sound so devious," with a laugh, Takao shook his head. His face reflected a mask of sympathy, "You shouldn't even try. Shin-chan's warned me about you— but I've got to say it's amusing."

"Ah," _time to pull out trump card number one._ She sighed _,_ "Well, that's a shame. It would have been nice to get conformation about my information. It is pretty old now."

"Oh, really?" He still didn't look concerned, but a new shine of interest appeared with the tilt of his head, "You've already got information on me? I'm honored, Imamura-chan."

"I do," Hana's smile became sharp and she brought her hands to her hips, "Takao Kazunari, Shutoku High School, Class B-4… Played against Teiko during the Winter Tournament in the position of shooting guard. Birthday is November 21st and you're a fellow Scorpio. Blood type O, height used to be 173 centimeters, but it seems you've grown a bit."

"Okay," Takao looked startled and almost a bit concerned. The sight fueled her fire, only for it to get doused out right away, "I get it! Man, Shin-chan didn't tell me how creepy that was—"

She twitched, "It's not creepy."

"It is!" and he was back to laughing. Pausing for a moment, Takao suddenly brought a hand to his stomach and began to laugh harder, "Shin-chan was right!"

… _does that mean what I think it does?_ Pulling her eye brows down into a frown, Hana huffed, "He made me sound like a creepy stalker, didn't he?"

That wouldn't surprise her. It still annoyed her, but it made sense. Her skills were on the side of stalking… but it had a purpose, dammit! She focused back in on Takao a second later. His eyes darted around the area before he looked back at her with a grin. _Keen eyesight…_

"Yeah," Takao took a breath before talking in a lower tone, imitating Midorima. It didn't sound like him at all, "She studies you on a personal level, Takao. Heed my warnings and avoid interaction."

"A personal level?" Hana blinked. The phrase rolled around in her head before she flushed, "He made it sound so… _wrong!_ Like I'm defiling people!"

"Ha!" That statement made his amusement grow even stronger. Wiping a tear from his eye, Takao caught his breath, "That's funny. Now," his smooth smile returned with a knowing edge, "Why'd you tell me about that? What were you trying to get?"

"Subject change, cool," Hana stalled. Okay, so, the big reveal sounded beneficial in her head. But now that she thought it over, she realized she may have just threatened someone, "Honestly, I was kind of hoping that would force you to agree."

"Really," eyebrows securely latched to his hairline, Takao snorted, "That was terrible planning."

She couldn't deny that, "It was." _… but it still worked._

"Well, I'm a bit impressed Imamura-chan," he sighed, before leaning back on his toes, "but I've got to say, I expected more from Shin-chan's warnings. More manipulation, maybe?"

"Nah," pulling her phone out of her hoodie pouch, Hana glanced down at the clock. _Thirty minutes before game start._ Time for the final blow. Her eyes flicked back up to Takao, "I've got what I needed."

Takao didn't look convinced, "If you say so~"

"Mhm," replacing her phone, Hana began, "Judging from the way you refer to Midorima, you're obviously close, which hints at partnership; and since Midorima is mostly a shooter… that must mean you're his aid. Not only that, but you're playful. You get amusement out of teasing people, which probably follows you onto the court and gives you an unorthodox style."

"Hmmm, good job," Takao hummed thoughtfully, "But you guys did watch us play—"

"Ah, ah!" She interrupted with a smirk, "You're friendly, good teamwork. You're lighthearted, good perseverance. You're observant, I've seen you glance around the area at least five times since we've started talking. Something to do with your eyes?"

Shifting a bit, Takao held his hand's up, "Okay, message received. You're sneaky, that's for sure!"

"Good," folding her arms over her chest, Hana huffed victoriously, "Now transfer that message to Midorima."

"…" Takao didn't offer an agreement to her demand, instead he brushed a hand through his hair with a chuckle. His next words were laced in consideration, "You didn't need me to join your little spy ring, did you, Imamura-chan?"

"Nope," Hana didn't bother to lie, she finished what she started. Too bad she didn't know what to do now. Feeling a layer of awkwardness descend upon them, Hana finally motioned to the drink he held in his hand, "Where'd you get that?"

"What a change of subject," Takao retorted good naturedly. Holding up the iced coffee in his hand, he pointed down the hall, "They're in the vending machines—"

"Show me," Hana paused before hastily adding on, "Please."

His resulting smile was trouble. She swore it.

xXxXxXxXx

The plan to spy on Seiho was shot to shit. Her new companion, Takao, was like a freaking leech. Did people feel this way around her? God, she hoped not. Sipping on her icy drink, Hana cut her eyes toward the point guard. Couldn't he read the atmosphere? Why was he still here?

Don't get her wrong, the guy wasn't _that_ bad. His personality was tolerable, whenever he wasn't laughing at her misfortune, but there was something off. People didn't just befriend other people like this, especially if that person was her. _Maybe I'm just suspicious—_

"So, Imamura-chan," Takao brought his hands behind his head and grinned down at her, "What's up with you and Shin-chan? Do I sense a broken romance?"

 _Called that shit._

Ignoring her silence, Takao continued, "He may be a grumpy, old tsundere, but he talks about his middle school teammates sometimes. That's where I'm confused… because you're _not_ one of them, are you?"

"You know," Hana grunted under her breath, "I was just starting to think you weren't terrible."

"Avoiding the question, again!"

With an eyeroll, she gave him an answer, "Look, we were friends. _Friends._ None of that secret romance shit you seem so fond of."

"Friends?" Takao parroted her, "No offense, but you don't seem like Shin-chan's type—"

"Oh, and you do?"

A beat of silence lasted before her companion huffed in silent laughter, "Touché. I guess that's another point to you, Imamura-chan."

"Points? I hope I'm winning," After a pause, Hana smirked. _Like they always said, go big or go home_. Besides this could be a good change of pace, "Your loss today won't hurt as bad if you're prepared."

"Feisty," Takao drawled before looking back down at her, "You talk big for someone who hasn't even won their first game yet~"

 _Oh, really now?_ "Who's to say you'll win yours?"

Humor bubbling in his eyes, Takao spun toward her with an open mouth. His response was barely spoken before he was interrupted by a _subtle_ throat clearing. His slate blue eyes widened before he twisted his head over his shoulder, "Shin-chan!"

 _Awh, hell._ That was definitely Midorima. Her old friend stood several steps away from them with green eyes narrowed behind his glasses. Thinking on the best step forward, Hana scanned over him, noting the tension in his shoulders. The rest of the image wasn't surprising. The green haired teen was already in his uniform and he had his sports bag held securely over his shoulder. _Just like old times._

"Takao," Midorima's greeting was to the point and his eyes flashed dangerously on his teammate, "I was sent to find you, we're already preparing."

"Really?" Takao pulled his phone out of his pocket before beaming toward Midorima, "I knew you cared, Shin-chan!"

"You idiot. I don't, I'm simply following orders," Hana would beg to differ judging from lack of heat in his words. Maybe the two were secretly compatible… they _were_ water signs after all. _It's still strange though._

With a sigh, Takao turned back to her. Mischief exuded from his smile, "See, Imamura-chan? He's such a grump."

Brow rising, Hana began to agree, but Midorima cut her off. The shooter's voice dipped sternly, " _Takao."_

Well, this new development wasn't okay. Midorima was _not_ going to sit there and act like she didn't exist. Nah uh, no way, no how. Screw old relationships and weird ass tensions. Kuroko didn't ignore her, Kise didn't ignore her, Midorima was _not_ going to ignore her. _That's just plain rude._

"Yo," lifting a slow hand, Hana gifted Midorima with a saccharine smile, "Nice to see you too, Midorima."

With a barely noticeable jerk, Midorima turned toward her. Like she had done earlier, his green eyes surveyed her before speaking. It was an emotionless response, "Imamura." _… well I'll just have to fix that._

"I like your teammate," swaggering up to Takao, Hana nudged the point guard in the shoulder. For once, Takao stood silently and she used it to her advantage, "Very informative."

"…" Midorima cut his eyes toward Takao, who was shaking his head wildly, before returning to her face. His words were laced in derision, "That's none of my concern. It isn't my fault he foolishly agreed to speak with you."

"For the record, she cornered me. I just wanted some food!"

No one paid attention to Takao's outburst. Instead, Hana focused onto the new battle of dominance. It was… kind of fun. _I can understand why Kagami likes this, that damn adrenaline_. Even though this was a battle of words, it was scarily addicting. Could you get high off this stuff?

Revitalized, Hana simpered, "You sure, _Shin-chan_? You seem pretty quiet. Worried?"

A beat passed before she deadpanned. Okay, laughter had not been the desired response to her harassment. Turning annoyed eyes onto the doubled over Takao, Hana shot him a _what the hell_ look. The jackass just continued to laugh and Hana turned back to Midorima with a huff only to pause. _He's blushing?_

"That was great!" Takao howled behind her, "She totally stumped you—"

"Takao _,_ " Midorima refused to make eye contact with her, choosing to push his glasses up instead, "It's time to go."

"But it was just getting good~"

"… _Takao_."

"Fine, fine," holding his hands up pacifyingly, Takao walked toward his teammate shooting Hana one last remark, "Good luck today, Imamura-chan! You'll need it!"

Her eye twitched, strange reactions forgotten. _I'll need it? You'll need it when I destroy you, you little imp!_

"Scorpios rank eighth today," A smooth voice interrupted her murder plots. Midorima's reply was seemingly aimed at Takao, but the way his sharp green eyes flickered to her gave him away, "They should be wary of overconfidence."

The two boys began to walk away moments later. When they were halfway toward the next hallway, his warning registered. Be wary of overconfidence? Rethinking over her morning, Hana winced. It seemed Oha-asa was on point today.

 _Well, shit._ With a groan, she brought a hand to her head, "Of course. Couldn't I just rank first for one damn day?"

The rival players stopped short and Midorima muttered something to Takao. It was too quiet for her to hear, but she didn't have to wait long. With a flourish, Takao jerked his head around Midorima's shoulder and shouted back to her, "Shin-chan says Scorpio's lucky item is a desert cookbook!"

Midorima's hand latched onto his teammates collar, snatching him away. Burning red cheeks clashed against green hair before they disappeared around the corner. That… had not been expected, but it was strangely familiar. Meanwhile, a loud thump echoed from the same hallway and then everything was back to blissful silence.

"…" Hana blinked, "What the fu—"

Curse cut short, she frowned down at her hoodie pocket. It was vibrating steadily and Hana fished it out of its resting place. She promptly blanched. With a lunge, her sneaker clad feet slid against the floor before she cut the next corner like a maniac. She ignored the two surprised grunts at her passage.

The phone stopped vibrating before it began again.

 _I know I'm late! Stop calling!_

* * *

Her teammates were warming up when she arrived. So, _technically_ , she wasn't late. That fact didn't stop Riko from staring her down, but at least the glare came without pain. _Thank the lords._ Now, Hana stood on the sidelines and watched the manly men do their thing. Balls were shot into hoops, boys were sweating, encouragements exchanged… _booooring._

"I'm bored," Hana twisted toward Riko. Pulling her lip down, her face turned pleading, "Can we liven it up? Play some music or something?"

Riko didn't look away from her clipboard, but Hana caught her eyebrow raise, "No. Have you finished your notes yet?"

"As much as I could," Hana frowned at the other side of the court. Seiho was practicing as well and her gaze narrowed on Tsugawa, "I got held up earlier, I could go talk to them now though."

"The games about to start," _and I'm shot down._ Removing the clipboard from her face, Riko moved closer to her, "Can I see the information?"

With a sigh, Hana handed the notes toward Riko. As the coach scanned over her handwriting, Hana eyed them in disdain, "There's not much, but they're good at fouling their opponents out. You're going to need to watch Kagami."

"I planned too, we need to save him for the next game anyway," Flipping toward the next sheet, Riko raised an eyebrow, "How'd you get all this? I thought you didn't have a chance to talk to them?"

"Social media is awesome," Hana paused, "Actually, it's really not. None of them had anything interesting to say, but I could look through their basic info and then using their horoscopes… I kind of guessed their personalities? Don't look too close into it."

Done with her analyzation, Riko attached the notes to her clipboard and hummed, "Anything helps. This isn't going to be an easy match…"

As if planned, Tsugawa sauntered toward Kagami. The rival boy's eyes flashed in excitement as he introduced himself and Hana listened to the exchange with half an ear. She was curious to see if his personality matched up with her guesstimates. _He's a Pisces… idealistic, cheerful, tendency for obliviousness._

"You're Kagami, right? Your hair is really red, scary!" Tsugawa turned toward his teammates with a beaming grin, "Captain, look! Seirin's really weak but they have one strong player!"

… _oblivious is right._ Her team stopped moving, staring in astonishment at the audacity of the player. Beside her, Riko jerked and her hands came up into the air, seemingly squeezing the life out of Tsugawa. She'd never heard Riko curse before, so this was a new, _interesting_ experience. The coaches rage lasted until Tsugawa got shoved down by his captain.

Hana snorted. _It's_ _Kagami 2.0._

Meanwhile, the Seiho captain and Hyuuga got into another verbal standoff, _which is becoming increasingly common,_ before the two rivals vacated her team's area. With an air of discontent, all of the boys stared after Tsugawa's back. Sometimes Hana wondered if her teammates lived in a universe where everything was much more dramatic then it seemed.

Ten minutes later, Seirin was situated in the dressing room. Trailing her eyes over her teammates, Hana quirked an eyebrow. Everyone looked so… _downtrodden._ Maybe she was an anomaly, but she didn't see what the big deal was. _We faced Kise in better spirits then this, stop acting like sad puppies._ Riko apparently agreed.

With a clap of her hands, Riko called attention to herself. One moment the coach appeared normal, the next she'd been replaced by an overtly flirty replica, "I thought of a reward to cheer you guys up. If we win this game, I'll give you each a kiss on the cheek!"

God, she couldn't stop it. While everyone else tried to decline, Hana full out choked. Bringing her hands up, she tried to cover it, but the laughter escaped anyway. _She can't be serious!_ Hana's response was strangled, "Oh man, does that count for me too?"

"What!" Riko jolted from her new position on the floor. The despair from her rejection filtered out only to be replaced by bewilderment. Riko's mouth gaped wide, "No! Imamura-chan!"

"You offered! I wouldn't want to disappoint—"

"No! It— You weren't included!"

"I'm not good enough, huh? Maybe glasses are more to your taste—"

" _Imamura-chan!"_

The two girls were so absorbed in their banter they failed see the mortified flushes break out across the males' faces. Bringing a hand up to his _clearly not bleeding_ nose, Hyuuga looked away only for his gaze to land on his teammates. A tick appeared above his eyebrow.

Glasses flashing, the captain cautioned the team, "All right, stop looking like that! Before we start, I'm sure you'll notice, but Seiho is strong. After last year's massive defeat, we hated basketball so much we nearly quit."

Freezing, Hana stopped teasing Riko. Wide green eyes peeked toward the captain and a sick feeling rested in her gut. Even though the second years began to reassure their teammates of their happiness, Hana remained lost in Hyuuga's admittance. She flicked her gaze over the rest of the team with a sense of resolve.

 _Like captain said, we're a team now._

xXxXxXx

Fingernails dug into her palms, green eyes flickered up and down the court, and a snarl pulled up her upper lip. _This isn't going well._ She was wrong to be overconfident, _stupid Oha-asa,_ and the fact was driving her insane. The score had stagnated at 0-12 with Seirin losing. Her team couldn't break through the defensive wall, but Seiho didn't have the same problem. _In fact, they're making it look disgustingly easy._

"Shit," Hana hissed when Kagami got a foul, "That stupid tiger…"

Beside her, Furihata called out onto the court, "Kagami! Calm down!"

"That's like telling water not to be wet," crossing her arms over her chest, Hana scowled at the court, "Tsugawa is intentionally pushing him, see that smile? That's the smile of a little shit."

"…" Furihata stared at her, Hana was pleased by the lack of terror, before he sweat dropped, "I've never met a girl that talks like you, Imamura-san."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Eyeing the court, Hana took a step forward to stand beside Riko. When the game started again she held her breath in anticipation. Kuroko had the ball and his blue eyes flashed over his teammates, looking for an opening. It was unsuccessful and the pass was intercepted. _Again._

"This is crazy," muttering under her breath, Hana tilted her head toward her coach, "If we don't figure out a way for Kuroko to pass then we aren't moving anywhere."

"I know," Riko fiddled with her whistle before furrowing her brow. A moment later she spoke again, "They're using man to man defense, but look at their feet. Somethings not normal."

"I noticed that on the tape," Hana agreed, "They run weird. I thought they might participate in other clubs, like American football or something, but they don't. Their captain's part of the martial arts club though."

"…" Riko blinked before a look of understanding flashed across her face, "That's it. They're using martial arts! I knew it looked familiar!"

"Okay," while that information was convenient, that still didn't tell her what they planned to do about it. When Kagami was intercepted again, Hana repeated her thoughts to Riko, "What are we going to do about it?"

"We'll figure it out," then Riko stalked away.

Watching her coach walk, Hana deadpanned. _Thanks for that great explanation._ She didn't see any way out of the situation, even with the expanded knowledge, but then again, it was _her._ There was a reason she was a manager and not a player. _Unless they're my plans, I can't strategize worth shit._

The team merged on the sidelines shortly later. Riko took her place in the middle of the group and began her explanation. Listening half-heartedly, Hana handed out a couple towels, specifically to Kagami who had sweat dripping off him in waves. She heard the description on the martial arts and their involvement, but her attention was caught by the prospect of a solution.

 _Fake them out,_ Hana stared at the tired looking Kagami from underneath her eyelashes. _Can his temper handle it?_

She freaking hoped so.

The timeout ended and the team moved back onto the court. Following the whistle's blow, Kagami returned to his position against Tsugawa and with a fake, the red head easily overpassed the rival player. He ran like fire down the court before pulling off an impressive dunk. _That's our first score!_

"Hell yes! Go Kagami!" cupping her mouth, Hana cheered alongside Riko, "Show that little punk who's boss!"

Damn, that felt good. She'd held back with Seirin, not wanting to devote herself to another team, but that didn't matter anymore. As the cheers continued to fall from her lips, Hana finally allowed herself to feel like a _true_ teammate. _I hope they can handle my screaming… because I'm not stopping now._

xXxXxXx

She definitely did not stop screaming. They just weren't encouraging screams anymore. Despite his rush of victory, Kagami was quickly overtaken again. Tsugawa managed to keep up with him, proving defensive skills that easily matched Kise's. At Kagami's third foul, Hana cursed with a vengeance.

"That idiot," She'd begun to pace a while ago and now her feet led her back to her team, "He's going to screw up and get taken out."

"He's getting angry," Kawahara muttered when the ball was knocked out of bounds, "How long can he keep this up?"

"I don't know— Oh shit," Hana blinked at the sight on the court. After being thoroughly shocked by his presence, Tsugawa was talking to Kuroko with a mocking smile in place. She couldn't hear their words, but the expression on Kuroko's face hinted at something… "Kuroko's annoyed."

Just as she spoke, the ball was passed around Seiho's players by the ghosts intense handling. It was as if he'd started the game anew. The hold Seiho had on the ball was destroyed by the combined efforts of Kuroko's passing and Kagami's defensive jumping. The score began to lift in Seirin's favor.

The first quarter ended and her team came back to the sidelines. Parking herself onto the bench, Hana listened to Riko's plan. _Play offensively, keep up, don't get fouls._ When they returned to the court, it went without a hitch and the plan remained in effect as Kuroko and Kagami dominated offensively. Another two points went to Seirin.

 _Of course it couldn't last._ Next thing she knew, Kagami just had to go and shove Tsugawa to the floor. Hana snarled, "Kagami! Stop being so stupid!"

"It's only the second quarter," Koganei muttered as he watched their ace, "He got four fouls so quickly…"

"He needs a break. Koganei, you're in!" Riko stated decisively before marching toward the referee, "You too Tsuchida."

A few conversations later and Kuroko sat on her left side and Kagami her right. Passing the sweaty tiger a water bottle, Hana turned her attention back to the game. Their seniors were holding themselves well, especially against the strength of Seiho. A small smile pulled at her lips.

"He can dunk?" Kagami sounded honestly shocked and Hana side eyed him.

"Yeah," she huffed under her breath as Seirin returned to defense, "You aren't the only human that can jump Kagami."

"That's not what I meant," luckily, Kagami seemed too tired to respond to her pestering, "I've just never seen him do it before."

Okay, Hana could understand that, "You hog the ball most of our games, it makes sense we wouldn't see all our seniors' potential."

Growling, Kagami stiffly turned to face her, "I don't hog the ball—"

"Our senpais are strong," Kuroko broke into the middle of their conversation, "This is their chance to prove themselves."

As Kuroko spoke, Mitobe shot a hook shot into the goal. Two points to Seirin. Seiho's player retrieved the ball and evened the score. Then Koganei scored. The pace remained a back and forth exchange between the two teams. _They just need something to jump the distance._

Her thoughts were answered seconds later. Izuki stood at center, before holding one finger up. The ball dribbled against the court for one moment and then another. Then he _moved,_ passing the ball to Hyuuga who raced down the court and then exchanged with Mitobe, scoring another point.

"They've got good coordination with each other," Hana observed before leaning around Kagami to address Riko. Izuki's movement reminded her of Takao's, "What's up with Izuki?"

"You noticed?" Riko didn't look away from the game, but her lips tilted upward, "Izuki-kun can see everything, he's got an eagle eye."

"Eagle eye?" Kagami questioned and even Kuroko appeared interested, "What's that?"

"He may not have the best physical strength, but he can change in a moment's notice," Riko explained, "He can see everything from all angles, sensing the entire court."

The silence lasted for a beat before Riko began to talk about the rest of the seniors. Meanwhile, Hana stared out at Izuki. _That guy?_ The guy that was skipping down the court? _The pun-master extraordinaire?_ She whole-heartily agreed with Kagami's muttered, "Seriously?"

"I don't know why you guys even play basketball," Hana spoke in the same tone as Kagami had, "You all should just become superheroes. With your magical eye shit and other weird talents."

"I don't believe our talents extend that far," Kuroko commented, appearing to think about her suggestion, "They have a better use on the court."

"Not really," Hana huffed as Seirin hilariously tried to score a goal, rotating between shooting and rebounding. Tugging her lip into her mouth, Hana hummed, "Do you think that's why Izuki has such good test scores? Since he can see the whole room—"

She stopped. She blinked. She stared. Was that an orange ball heading toward her face? _It is_! Bringing her palms up, Hana prepared to catch the runaway basketball. But she hadn't prepared to catch _the damn person_. In a moment of determination, or stupidity, Koganei tried to retrieve the ball before it went out of bounds.

Although the action was well meaning, the cat-like boy still lost his balance and tumbled _directly toward her._

"Woah!" That was all Hana could shove out of her mouth before he landed on top of her. For such a small boy, Koganei was damn heavy and, as his body weight slammed into her, both teens were sent falling backward. Her head landed on the wooden floors with a crack and then Koganei had the _audacity_ to smack the back of his head into her forehead. "… _shit_."

She was probably imagining things, but she swore she heard an echoing, "Imamura-cchi!"

"Imamura-chan! Koganei-kun!" Riko stood over them a heart-beat later, "Are you two alright! Koganei-kun! Your eyes are spinning!"

Blinking, Hana stared up at her coach. Had Riko always been so colorful? Another person appeared beside her coach and Hana snorted. Kuroko looked funny with three heads. The people got closer and Koganei was easily lifted off her. The action made the world spin even faster.

"Hell," her words slurred a bit as Hana pushed herself into a sitting position. Ignoring the way her head pounded, she frowned at the technicolored Riko, "Man, that hurt."

"Imamura-chan! Don't move so fast," Riko kneeled down beside her and held up a couple fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up? Kuroko-kun, can you get me a wet towel please?"

"I see six, but since you only have five, I'll go with three," the words were accompanied by a wince as Hana struggled to her feet, "I'm going to have the worst damn migraine."

"… that's right, but that's not the answer I wanted," Riko's hands fluttered around as Hana moved toward the bench. When the manager settled, the coach turned her attention to the other injured player on the floor, "Koganei-kun? You're going to have to be subbed out."

"I thought so," Koganei sighed, but he didn't argue the decision. Peeking around Furihata's kneeling form, Koganei looked toward Hana in concern, "I'm sorry, Imamura-chan—"

"No harm, no foul," she cut his apology off, before blinking slowly, "Uuuhm… I didn't mean that literally. Since that hurt and it was a foul, so yeah. It's all peachy good. Perfectly presentable. Fantastic."

"…" the silence from her team was deafening. When she looked up at the semi-circle of players, Hana startled at the looks of concern. Even the grumpy tiger eyed her warily, which was probably the closest she'd ever come to getting sympathy from him. She tried to smile. She didn't think it worked.

A tense beat passed before Riko broke the silence, "Okay, so Koganei-kun is subbed out—"

"Can I go back in?" Kagami interrupted, looking out to the court. Meanwhile, Kuroko appeared in front of her with the towel. Shooting him a grateful look, Hana tried to take it from him.

She wasn't prepared for one of his three hands to press it to her forehead instead.

"Weren't you listening? We're saving you for our next game," Hyuuga scolded Kagami, but Hana hardly paid attention. All she could focus on was the subtle worry displayed in Kuroko's three-headed gaze.

Well, to be precise, she cared a bit more about how weird he looked with six eyes, but whatever.

"I need to go in. I've got to pay back Tsugawa," Kagami protested and with that, Kuroko laid the towel in her lap and moved away. The next thing she saw was Kagami getting pushed away by one of Kuroko's pale hands connecting to his face. Snickering, Hana smirked at the irony in the action. _Sucks, doesn't it?_

The whole situation ended with Kuroko taking Kagami's place against Tsugawa. The blue-haired teen stepped onto the court and began to cover the rival man to man style. Meanwhile, Kagami plopped back down beside her. Ignoring the pounding in her head, Hana looked up at his sulking face.

"Let him do it," she commented as she watched his eyebrows duplicate, "Shadow and light."

"What?" Kagami frowned down at her, "You're talking weird. Are you sure you're okay, Imamura?"

Was she sure? Nope, but she'd sustained worse injuries during second string practice. Still, it was nice of Kagami to worry, "I'm fine, but seriously, let him do it. You two support each other."

"…" the worn-out ace blinked a couple times before letting out a long sigh, "Alright. That Tsugawa guy is a bastard though— _oi!_ Don't fall asleep!"

"I'm not!" Hana jerked her head up from where it had begun to lean forward only to recoil, "I'm awake! Shit, that hurts like a bitch."

"We'll get pain medicine when this is over," Kagami looked back out to the game at the sound of the whistle, "Don't skip out on the game with Shutoku."

"Aw," she simpered sluggishly, "I knew you cared—"

"Shut up, Imamura."

"…" she was stumped at the lack of heat in his voice, but did as commanded, "Yes sir."

The game continued with Kuroko stationed against Tsugawa. It was the fourth quarter and Seirin was six points behind, struggling to make up the distance. If she thought the pace was fast before, it was nothing compared to Kuroko's new passing. It might be due to her injury, but Hana couldn't even _see_ the ball being exchanged.

"We've got them," Riko folded her arms over her chest in concentration, "We learned their habits and with Kuroko-kun's help, we can keep up."

Hana realized she was right. While Seirin still hadn't completed the score gap, with Kuroko's help they were extremely close. Even Kagami noticed, but Hana was too absorbed in the dance of movement in front of her to reply. All the boys looked like pretty blurs of color, but she was sure they wouldn't like the comparison.

It was the yell that echoed across the court that got her attention and Hana blinked her dazed eyes back into focus.

"Don't underestimate us!" Seiho's captain screamed as he charged. He looked like a raging bull, "You need ten more years to take on a king!"

She frowned as the captain scored another goal. Seiho was back in the lead, but Seirin continued to force forward. _They won't give up._ With the help of Kuroko, they managed to take back the lead with a goal of their own. And just like that, victory was assured for the first match of the day.

The buzzer rang out. At the realization of the winning score, her teammates erupted into cheers and Hana let a sleepy smile slip over her face. _You go, crazy bunch of idiots._

As the team met in the middle of the court for goodbyes and thank you's, Hana didn't notice how she slowly fell to the side. She didn't notice her head landing on a firm shoulder and snuggling into the smelly shirt. She didn't notice said shoulder jerk in surprise at suddenly becoming a pillow.

But she did notice Kagami's outburst, "Imamura! Get off!"

She ignored it.

* * *

 _In an Unknown Spot of the Stands _

"Imamura-cchi," Kise whined as he watched his old friend collapse against Kagami, "Don't do that with Kagami-cchi."

Kasamatsu peered over at his kohai, "That's what your worried about? I thought you had more sense than that."

"She shouldn't sleep!" Kise gestured down toward the court, pout firmly in place at the unjust situation, "She hit her head really hard… I hope she's okay."

"What's your deal with her? You won't shut up about the manager or number 11," Kasamatsu looked down at the girl in question. She didn't look overly impressive, the only thing she had going for her was her skill in information gathering. But that was easy; what about her could have possibly grabbed Kise's attention?

"We were really good friends in middle school," A sad smile pulled at the blonde's lips and Kasamatsu raised an eyebrow, "Kuroko-cchi was my inspiration, but Imamura-cchi always kept my head level. She's really honest, you know~"

" _She's_ honest," Kasamatsu deadpanned, staring at the girl blankly, "The same girl that lied to your teammates?"

"…" Kise tilted his head before speaking, "I said that she's honest, not that she's nice."

Well, didn't that just made all the goddamn sense. Transferring his incredulous gaze onto Kise, Kasamatsu continued, "Why would you care about someone like that?"

Mouth pursing into a firm line, Kise thought about his answer. It was a difficult relationship to explain, especially to someone who hadn't suffered through their middle school years. He tried anyway, "She hated us at first, you know? She never hid her feelings… I guess it was just nice to have someone so up front with us when no one else was."

"I find it hard to believe," Kasamatsu tilted his head toward the girl, "That she could be honest with her feelings."

"You just met her at the wrong time, senpai!" Kise's serious attitude evaporated and he beamed toward his captain, "She can't lie to people she's intimidated by."

His brow puckering, Kasamatsu turned toward his teammate. The way Kise said that hinted that she couldn't lie to him. Because she was intimidated by him? The thought had his head spinning and he voiced his concerns, "You sound proud of that."

"Hm?" Kise turned toward his senpai and gave him his full attention, "What do you mean?"

"The fact that she's intimidated by you all," Kasamatsu didn't make it his habit to get in other people's concerns, but this was his kohai. He continued after looking back down the court, "Doesn't that imply she's scared of you?"

"No! It's not like that—" frowning, Kise broke off, "It isn't like that, right?"

Giving his teammate a deadpan look, Kasamatsu's voice transferred over blankly, "I don't know, idiot. She's your friend."

For once, Kise didn't speak. When he glanced toward the model, Kasamatsu was surprised by the thoughtful look that pulled his features down. He didn't know what the underclassman was thinking, but judging by his expression, it was something serious. _Good. He needs to think more._

"…" Of course, the captain was proven wrong when Kise spoke again, "So what do you think about Kuroko-cchi? He's amazing, isn't he? Did you see those passes!?"

"Kise," the captain's elbow slammed into the other's arm, "Shut up _."_

 _On the Other Side of the Court_

"How much love do you have to have for basketball," Takao yawned as he stretched his arms over his head, "To go into a championship with no rest in between?"

Takao waited for Midorima's reply, but no such luck. Twisting his head to the right, he looked at the temperamental shooter. The former miracle stood stiffly beside him, but his eyes were trained on Seirin who merged together across the court. Following his friends gaze, Takao raised an eyebrow.

"Imamura-chan's tired, isn't she?" Takao hummed before finishing his thought, "Can't blame her though, that little bump had to hurt."

Turning his attention down to Takao, Midorima disputed his claim, "Her injuries could be dealt with in other ways."

"How cruel, Shin-chan," Takao let out a little laugh before gesturing beck to Seirin, "I thought she was your friend?"

"No," Midorima's green eyes narrowed on the sleeping manager, "She's just someone I used to acknowledge."

Picking up on the little hint of his teammate's past, Takao turned toward him, "That's not how you acted earlier~"

Midorima didn't reply to his pestering and Takao let out a small huff. Twisting back toward their future opponents, the point guard phrased his next response, "It looks like they won their game, so we'll end up facing them after all."

"I can see that," Midorima's words were spoken indifferently, "But their fate is already decided."

Raising a dubious eyebrow, Takao lifted his head up to look at Midorima's face. The sight that greeted him was pretty shocking. He'd _never_ seen the shooter smile before and it was a bit creepy. Actually, check that, a lot creepy, but whatever he guessed. Still though, Takao chuckled and prepared himself for the next game.

 _Time to face Shin-chan's old friends~_

* * *

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **030artastic:**_ **Awh, I'm glad to hear that! And yes, you caught the promotion! Just for that I will agree with your observation ;D sometimes in the next three chapters for sure. Thank you for your review!**

 **Angelichallows : ****Don't mind the late review! Any review is a good review! I'm so happy everyone likes second string, like I know this is a canon story, but they're my favorite to write. Kisana sounds like a good ship name though! Thank you so much for your review and support! I always look forward to your long reviews!**

 **Crystalvixen93:** **Thank you! Sorry for the long wait!**

 **Feefee242 : ****Thank you!**

 **Crystalviolet24** **: Yes, shipping wars! I love it! I love reading your insightful reviews, you point out things that I haven't even noticed as an author. It's great! Thank you! And yes, Kagami and Kitano teaming up would be great. Imagine the over protectiveness? Isn't it beautiful? Again thank you for these great reviews!**

 **Jeyamendoza : ****I'm glad you think they make it realistic! That was the whole goal, so I'm glad it works! I really like Iseri too though, so you aren't alone. Your review made complete sense, don't worry! I love longs reviews like that so thank you so much for sticking with me!**

 **ADDbaby:** **Yes! So many brothers! So much fun! (they really are fun to write, it's great) I'm glad you appreciate her nerdiness! Yay! And yes, birdie hell is interesting. I'll see a crow flying and just be like, oh hello hana! Thank you for your hilarious reviews!**

 **Amgs:** **Your welcome, I love marvelous cliché jokes too! Awh, I'm happy to hear that you laugh. That always makes me smile because I don't think I'm funny at all, but I'm so happy to hear differently! Thank you for these reviews and for sticking with me. I appreciate it so much! (I may upload a separate story with the dream sequence. I wrote it out in my free time and I have** _ **so**_ **many extra scenes I never put into the story. Soooo be on the look out!)**

 **ArchimedesAckermann : ****I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT AHHH. Makes me so happy. Oh, you ship? Yay! Thank you for another awesome review!**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuc h: ****I feel bad for them too, don't worry. The ride of feelings will be a bumby run, that's for sure, but it'll be fun! Midorima's wet blanket self will hopefully dry out soon. If he cooperates with my imagination that is. Anyway, thank you for your review!**

 **NinjaPenguinLover : ****Thank you! And yes, gooey eyes…** _ **fun times ahead!**_ **As for how long this will carry, originally the plan was fifty chapters. Unfortunately, I keep adding stuff and making everything longer… I really need to stop that but it's so much fun. Anyway, that's a rough estimate and yes! There will be an extra game version as soon as the main story is done. Thank you for another review!**

 **redraspberries:** **I'm so happy you liked it. Thank you for your multip** **le reviews and for sticking with me. Thank you again! :D**

 **TheParadoxicalOxymoron : **_**Thank you.**_ **I'm serious, thank you so much for pointing that out. I went back and fixed it right away! (I honestly thought it was spelled correctly, so you've just saved me from future life embarrassment. Again,** _ **thank you)**_ **I'm glad you liked the chapter even with the error, I'm super happy about that. Thank you!**


	29. Chapter 29

***Rises from the ashes like a phoenix* Yo! I'm sorry for the gigantically long wait, but I moved out of my parents house into the adult world and hey... it kicked my booty. Anyway, still alive and kicking! I bring you part one of the Shutoku game! I also apologize because _man_ it's been a long time since I got to write and this chapter is not up to my standards, but it is complete. Furthermore, I've begun editing the first chapters so expect to see some grammar alterations. Finally, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH. YOU ALL ROCK. 3**

 **Warnings: Bad language, violence, and bad editing (so much bad editing)**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke**_

* * *

Acknowledgement

Part I 

Sometimes life just doesn't go your way.

Her head was throbbing, but Hana was _not_ leaving. During the break between games, she'd been approached by each of her team members urging her to go get it checked out. She declined. _Repeatedly._ Finally, it was down to Riko who ended up giving her an ultimatum. Either get the injury looked at or go home.

Screw that.

"I don't think—" Furihata got cut off by Hana snatching the shirt out of his hand, "Imamura-san—"

"It'll work," Hana insisted, eyeing the white tee-shirt. She was not going home, no way. Screw the rules of head injuries. _I've handled worse._ Glaring down at the future wrap, Hana lifted the sleeve and _ripped._ "See, it works. Now hand me the ice, please."

He did so warily, watching the manager's progress. Furihata heard his friends talking behind him, but his attention focused on the poor shirt's remains gradually fluttering to the ground. He really, really hoped Kagami didn't notice the disappearance. Sparing another glance at Hana, Furihata sweat dropped.

Skillfully ignoring the judgement and looping the temporary bandage around her head twice, Hana grabbed the ice and laid it against her forehead. Another loop of the thoroughly stretched shirt and she tied the edges together in an improvised bow underneath her ponytail. Giving her partner in crime an inquiring glance, Hana motioned toward her face, "How do I look?"

Unbeknownst to Hana, her makeshift bandage wasn't the masterpiece she'd hoped for. Instead of a neat and pristine job, the tee-shirt managed to snag several of her hairs, causing her ponytail to be riddled with random fluffs of tangled strands. Not only that, but the icepack she'd placed on her forehead had already started to condensate, leaving a large wet spot in its place.

"…" thinking honesty wasn't the best policy in this case, Furihata offered her a shaky smile, "It looks great, Imamura-san."

"We need to work on your poker face," ignoring the way he blanched at the _we,_ Hana continued, "But thanks for trying to be a gentleman," she flicked her eyes toward the sleeping form of Kagami, "You're better than some assholes I've met."

Like promised, Kagami retrieved some pain medication. The little plastic bottle had been tossed in her direction, but when Hana caught it, she was left to gape at the item in disbelief. Obviously, that idiot couldn't read or he was just too tired from the last game to pay attention. Anyway, he'd, _oh so helpfully_ , handed her a bottle of antacid, leading her to her current predicament of avoiding medical assistance.

 _Thanks, Kagami._

His mistake had nothing to do with her choice of tee-shirt, oh no. She _definitely_ didn't steal Kagami's out of spite. It was more like… compensation, per say.

Meanwhile, Furihata cautiously watched as the manager's glower grew, "Uhm… we?"

"Yeah, _we_ ," adjusting her new headpiece one last time, Hana gave the freshman a charming smile. The darkness from moments ago vanished into an array of innocence, "I like you, Furihata-kun. You remind me of my friend. Maybe you'll end up like him."

"That's… that's good, right?"

"Sure," Hana paused before scrunching her nose up, "Well, Uoya might disagree with my methods, but I think it was a good thing. He really learned a lot through our little lessons."

It may have been her imagination, but she was pretty sure her teammate whimpered, "… lessons?"

"Yup," popping the last syllable, Hana glanced over Furihata's shoulder at the rest of the freshmen trio. They were obviously eavesdropping, but she decided not to call them out on it. _Besides, why have one when I could have three?_ "In fact, I think I could teach all you guys some cool stuff—"

Her sentence was cut off by a hand landing on top of her head. At first thought, Hana assumed the perpetrator was Kagami, but she was proven wrong with a glance above. In this case though, she may have preferred the grumpy redhead, because instead, her captain stood threateningly above her, eyes squinted into a menacing smile.

She'd become pretty familiar with that look _._ Seemed everyone was wearing a variation of it these days.

"Don't share shitty habits with your classmates," The grip on her head twisted, snagging the edges of her wrap, and Hana was turned toward the exit, "Go to the nurse already."

"I fixed it! See! I'm fine—"

Fingers slackening mercifully, Hyuuga pushed her forward with a tiny grin, "Stop being so stubborn, idiot. _Go."_

"You just don't appreciate my genius," Hana brought a hand to her head before shooting the bipolar captain a baleful glare, "But, fine. I'll go, your majesty."

She didn't wait for his reply and instead wisely vacated the danger zone. Even without seeing it, she could already imagine Hyuuga's face losing its smile and his hands twitching to lash out at her. With a pout, Hana tugged at her wrap. Why'd she even bother to do this if they were still going to send her off? Couldn't their worry wait until later? Sure, everyone, herself included, was tired and grumpy, but _still._

She wanted to watch the game. Not only that, but she needed to be there, _dammit._

Despite her nonchalance about the whole debacle, her heart was pounding at the thought of finally facing Midorima. Her team _needed_ her help. Other than Kuroko, she was the only one who had any experience with the grumpy shooter. It might be tinted with her own biases, but it was better than nothing.

Dodging around the group of her teammates, Hana mumbled mutinously under her breath, "Stupid head injury. Stupid nurse. Stupid human body."

 _How can I help when they're sending me away?_ One foot paused. _Wait…_

Marching toward the dressing room exit, Hana's irritation slowly melted into something a bit more devious. She'd gotten a one up on Kise's team, no matter how petty it was, so shouldn't Midorima deserve the same? Besides, it wasn't like she'd be doing anything really _bad_. It was simply… information gathering.

 _Can't get in trouble for doing my job... hopefully._

With a soft swoosh, the door closed behind her. Yeah, everything would be okay as long as she came back before the game began. She could even find an aspirin along the way.

"…" plan forming, Hana glanced around the empty corridor, "No one needs to know the technicalities."

xXxXxXx

The past tends to repeat itself.

Too often in her experience.

Despite her plan, Hana hadn't had the easiest time of finding out which dressing room Shutoku used. Time was counting down and with each glance at her phone's screen, she'd slowly began to doubt the feasibility of her adventure. That had been when fate stepped in and gifted her with the magnificent sight of orange. An orange jumpsuit to be correct.

Following the Shutoku player had to be the easiest thing she'd ever done. The florescent color was like a guiding light and with it, Hana found her current hiding spot.

Reminiscent of her first personal encounter with Kise, Hana had fallen back to her roots and stood beneath an air vent. She'd been doing this since her first year as a manager and it never failed her, but now… now she wasn't so sure.

At first, she'd been lucky. The dressing room beside Shutoku's had been unlocked and her mystery guide hadn't noticed her creeping presence. The air conditioner was even off, so she didn't have to deal with interference. Everything was working in her favor.

Unfortunately, her luck ran out.

Hana hissed, "Who's bright idea was it to make these things so damn high?"

She could hear the other team talking, the voices undistinguishable from the vent near the ceiling, but she figured she could fix that issue. If only she could _get up there!_ Eyeing the dressing room, Hana's scowl deepened into something fierce. Did they really have to nail down the benches? Who the hell did they think would steal them?

"I don't have time for this," pulling her phone back out, she glanced down at the time. _Thirteen minutes until we need to head back._ Her foot promptly kicked into the silver locker in frustration, making the door swing open with a slow creak.

 _Okay then._ Hana blinked down at the space, "That could work."

Reaching a hand out, she moved the bottom door out of the way before turning toward the locker above it. Without a combination lock, the new metal door opened easily enough. A few seconds later, the final result consisted of two open lockers and the piece of metal that separated them. Taking a step back, Hana tilted her head to survey the work.

Well… at least it _looked_ strong enough to hold her.

"Please don't break," she muttered under her breath before stepping forward and swinging her foot up. The next one followed after a moment's hesitation, "Please, please, please."

 _I don't have Murasakibara to catch me now,_ her thoughts spewed the words out mockingly. _Stupid heights._

Trying to ignore the soft press of fear, Hana continued her climb by bringing her arms to the top. The metal structure let out a threatening groan and her body tightened in anticipation of her untimely doom. When it didn't fall apart immediately, Hana huffed out a low curse before pulling her whole body up into the space between the ceiling and the top of the locker.

Green eyes peered over the side and she blanched, making her headache resurface with a vengeance, "How the hell am I going to get down?"

 _Think about it later._ Looking away from the threatening floor below, Hana turned her attention back to her prize. Now that she was directly beside it the voices became comprehensible. Some of them were familiar, and Hana could recognize the captain, but she didn't hear Midorima or Takao. _If I risked this shit for nothing—_ an influx of noise abruptly cut her off _._

"Ten minutes left!"

Pressing her ear into the cold metal, Hana listened to the change in activity. The first voice that spoke was clearly Shutoku's captain and it spoke again when most of the noise died off, "Midorima…"

"Sorry," Midorima's voice sounded closer than the captains, almost like he was right beneath the vent, "Go on ahead."

Holding her breath, Hana pushed her ear even closer to the vent. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she shouldn't have been surprised when nothing happened _. Of course Midorima wouldn't give me anything useful._ Another flash of silence passed before Hana let out a disappointed breath and began the careful descent off the locker.

Well, half of it was a descent. The other half was a fall and a thoroughly sore knee, but she'd take those losses. At least it was a mildly _quiet_ fall and hey, the pain in her knee kind of distracted her from the headache. Which was, kind of, sort of, a plus… _sort of_.

Now standing, and thanking the universe for sparing her miserable life, Hana shoved her fingers into her pocket and deftly pulled out her phone. _Eight minutes._

"Shit," she frowned at the phone screen before pocketing it and moving toward the exit. Her fingers twitched against the cool metal as she pushed the door open, "That was completely freaking pointless—"

 _Nope! Nope to the hell nope!_

With a silent _eep,_ Hana froze with the door widened by a crack. She didn't dare move, scared to draw the attention of the two orange jumpsuits leaning directly to the left of her door. _Holy shit. They freaking scared me._

Her heart stuttered back to action and Hana let out a tremoring breath. _You've got to be kidding me. This never happens in the movies!_

"The upper classmen have already left," Takao's teasing voice cut across the empty space between them and Hana promptly cursed her luck to the pits of hell, "You took a while."

"There was no need to rush," the familiar tone of Midorima responded and she sucked in a dry breath.

They were seriously _way too freaking close._ Takao may have been nice to her earlier, but there was no way he'd appreciate _this._ The whole scenario made her feel like an unwilling witness to a murder or something more devious, especially with the serious undertone of their conversation. _Do all basketball players have this intense alter personality? I thought it was just a Hyuuga and Akashi thing—_

"You're so positive," Takao's voice dipped into playful sarcasm, but there was a knowing edge underneath his words, "I ran into Kuroko-kun in the bathroom. He's a pretty nice guy, ya' know."

"Keep an eye on him," Midorima retorted, voice swift and firm. His shadowed body moved away from Takao's, taking a few steps forward before continuing, "He's a strong opponent despite his foolish choice of school."

"Still worked up about that, huh?" Takao hummed in return, "You worry too much, Shin-chan."

Hana heard Midorima's footsteps pause and she assumed he turned back toward Takao, but couldn't tell from her limited view. _If only I could see their damn faces._

The shooter spoke after a moment's hesitation, "I'm not worried, Takao. Just keep your eyes on him."

Pursing her lips, Hana glanced down at the ground. She didn't exactly like the tone Midorima was using, but she couldn't put her finger on _why._ It was like… he was hinting at something, but what? She repeated the words thoughtfully. _Keep your eyes— eyes! Yeah! Takao's freaky eyes!_

"What about Imamura-chan?" Takao interrupted the silence, eyes flashing in the low florescent lighting, "Think she'll be able to make it?"

"…" Midorima paused before a sharp scoff escaped his mouth, "She doesn't concern me."

Hana didn't even have to see him to know Takao wore a shit eating grin. His mirth practically saturated the air, "If you say so~"

In any other moment, Hana might have had some choice words about his tone. She decided to keep them to herself for now. It was the smart thing to do after all. Besides, that was a tricky path to walk down; if she admitted to being annoyed with Midorima's attitude, then she'd second-handily be admitting that she _cared._

Which she didn't, obviously.

Meanwhile in the background, soft squeaks echoed against the floor and Hana lifted her gaze, assuming they'd walked away.

Only to regret it immediately.

Instead of the shadowed hallway she'd been expecting, Hana was greeted with a much more frightening sight. Green eyes connected with sparkling grey and the world ceased to function. With a startled shriek, Hana jumped away from her spying spot and into the freezing floor. _And there goes five more years off my life span._

"Hey, Imamura-chan," Takao held the door open with one hand while his eyes flashed in amusement, "You know, eavesdropping's pretty rude."

Unable to do anything more than gawk, Hana stared up at the taller male. Her heart was lodged inside her throat, removing her source of oxygen. The only noise she managed to create sounded suspiciously like a squeak.

God, her reputation was going up in flames.

"Well," opening the door fully, Takao sauntered into the room. His lively gaze peered down at her before holding out a large hand, "Since we're heading to the same place we should walk together. Don't want to be late~"

He didn't sound surprised at all. He must have known she was there the entire time. That little tidbit didn't settle too well with her. Eyeing her adversary, Hana raised a delicate eyebrow. In return, Takao's grin grew superior. He knew he'd won this round.

 _Oh hell,_ Hana narrowed her eyes before fitting her palm into Takao's own. _Can't say I didn't try._

With another toothy grin, Takao tugged her to her feet and out the door.

She was getting really tired of running into this guy.

xXxXxXx

"I've got to say, I'm digging the new fashion choice. What's up with it?"

"… Oh you know, just smacking the floor with my face."

"Heh, sorry forgot about that! So, do you always spy on the boy's changing rooms?"

"If you bring that up again— _I will kill you._ "

"Awhh, you even sound like him. You two must have been so cute together."

"For the last damn time, we didn't date."

"Are you sure _?_ Shin-chan never gets that flustered!"

"…"

"Are you blushing? You don't have to be embarrassed! We're friends too—"

"Friends… yeah, no."

"But, Imamura-chan, any friend of Shin-chan's is a friend of mine~"

"Huh, I thought you two were… _closer_."

"—Wait, what?!"

"Nothing," Hana skittered into the gymnasium, only to spin at the last moment and offer the player a sardonic smile, "Just a taste of your own medicine, _friend._ Speaking of, thanks for the aspirin!"

"Eurgh?! What?" Takao blinked after the managers back before hesitant eyes traveled down to his gym bag. The smile he'd worn during the interrogation twitched. All the zippers had been undone and the flap gaped out sloppily, "Did she— But I needed those!"

Paddling the cart home was going to be more of a pain than usual _._

He groaned, lip jutting out into a small pout. _Another point for Imamura-chan._

* * *

 _Seirin versus Shutoku_

Currently, saying Hana felt a bit jittery would be an understatement.

Her foot tapped against the shiny floor and shaky fingers drummed over a twitching knee. With her headache fading, she didn't have anything to distract her and the bleakness of her earlier thoughts returned with a vengeance.

That little jaunt with Takao amped up a few of her subtler anxieties. Not only did he bring up old memories of Midorima, when he wasn't such a grump, but he also made Hana realize just what kind of opponents they were facing. Even when he'd caught her spying, Takao hadn't seemed concerned about diminishing their chance of a win.

It wasn't often she felt nervous at the thought of a game, but that was exactly how she felt right now. The differences in skill levels and the painful memories of broken friendships were combining into a steady toxin. As the anxieties took hold, Hana wasn't sure they'd win this. The odds just weren't in their favor.

So, she did what she did best. Ignored the fear with snarky insults and ill placed humor.

No one seemed to appreciate it.

"You're more of a brat than usual," Kagami commented from a few feet ahead, his eyes narrowed on the next games competition. From her point of view, Hana watched his shoulders bunch together in anticipation. _Hmm… he needs a distraction too._

Well, angry Kagami is always entertaining.

Bringing her hand up to mask her smirk, Hana leaned forward, "That's funny coming from _you."_

"What?" Kagami shot his glare toward her, twisting a bit to increase its potency, "What's that mean, Imamura?"

One eyebrow quirked mockingly, "Your brain can't comprehend?"

"Why you—"

"You know, your insults lose their effectiveness when you can't even complete them."

"Can you _not_ be a smartass?"

"Feisty," Hana whistled lowly, "Ten points to you, Kagami. Not very original though."

Kagami took a threatening step toward her, albeit a little too close for comfort, "We aren't playing for points!"

While Hana riled up the bull, her teammates watched in wary fascination. Since the beginning, their ace and their manager had never seen eye to eye. It was better recently, but the showdown right now seemed more heated than usual. Again, Hana barked out another mocking insult, forcing a low growl out of Kagami's chest.

"Uhm," Koganei glanced between the two, "Shouldn't we stop them?"

Any reply to be made was broken up by Hana's scoff and Kagami's snarl.

Furihata hummed nervously, "They look like they're going to kill each other…"

The enforcer of the peace, Hyuuga, interrupted the growing battle. One hand landed on Kagami's forehead and the other pointed at Hana's face. Glasses flashing threateningly, Hyuuga attempted to calm the inferno, "You two, stop it! You're both being idiots."

"… keh," Kagami scoffed before turning back to the court, "Whatever. She started it."

"I started it? Classic—" a tepid hand swiftly cover her mouth, forcing Hana to swallow her reply. With a glare, she twisted her head up to meet the eyes of the culprit. They didn't seem too concerned with her silent death threats.

Instead, Kuroko met her gaze steadfastly, "You're being a bully, Imamura-san."

"…" shoulders tightening, Hana prepared herself to refute Kuroko, but her body betrayed her and her shoulders slumped in submission. Looking away from the probing gaze of her old friend, she lowered her gaze to the ground.

"I understand your nerves," Kuroko still didn't remove his hand, but his voice was almost sympathetic, "It's a challenging match for myself as well, but please do not take your anger out on Kagami-kun."

Mercifully, Kuroko removed his appendage and Hana brought a hand up to rub at her jaw. Though she understood what he was saying, she refused to make eye contact when she replied, "Got it. He's just too easy to rile up."

"He is," Kuroko amended before walking around the bleacher and coming to stand beside her, "But as are you."

Finally removing her gaze from the ground, Hana peeked up at Kuroko from underneath her bangs, "Well yeah, I thought we all knew that."

The blue haired boy remained silent, eyes watching Shutoku's side of the court thoughtfully. Another moment passed before a warm hand patted the top of her head and Kuroko walked away. His final words echoed back to her, "There's nothing wrong with missing them, Imamura-san."

Left at the bleacher, and choosing not to comment on how he knew about her internal battle, Hana gaped after Kuroko's back, "Did— did you just _pet_ me?"

There was no response to the accusation. _Of course._

Rubbing a hand over her face, she willed away her blushing cheeks. It had been a simple pat, nothing more. In the meantime, Riko called for attention and her teammates merged toward the coach. Throwing her embarrassment aside for the moment, Hana pushed herself out of her seat and migrated over.

"This isn't going to be an easy match," Hyuuga took over after Riko's instructions ended, "Last match took a lot out of us, but we can't give up—"

Zoning out the pep talk and coming to stand beside Kagami, she wrinkled her nose in aggravation. As much as she respected her captain, he really had a tendency to babble. Bored green eyes flickered to Kagami and Hana let out a resigned sigh. _Well, might as well apologize,_ and with that, Hana yanked on his shirt. He didn't turn to look at her, but she could feel the intensity of his sideways stare.

Mouth pursing into a fine line, she waited for her team to disperse before making her move.

She released his shirt after a bit of hesitation, , "Okay. I'm sorry for being a brat—"

One red eyebrow rose, "Finally."

"Don't interrupt me," Hana hissed an insult under her breath before continuing, "I'm also sorry you're so entertaining to piss off. You really need to work on that."

A rough groan escaped Kagami, but he didn't respond verbally. Instead, a heavy hand landed on her forehead and pushed. Taken aback, Hana stumbled a few steps, but when her fiery glare met the irritable tiger's, she was surprised to see a smirk gracing his face before he marched out onto the court. _Well that was anticlimactic._

"Jackass," her hands fisted on her hips before noticing the rest of the team gawking at her. She sniffed, refusing to acknowledge their bewilderment, "Stop looking so surprised."

She may not _like_ being the bigger person, but she could do it.

Now that the excitement was over her nerves calmed a bit, reduced to simple jitters due to the lingering anticipation and subsequent chastising _._ Nothing like a disappointed Kuroko to bring everything back into perspective. Really, for a guy with such limited facial expressions, he could pack a punch.

 _Speak of the devil and thou shall appear,_ "I'm glad you apologized—"

" _God,"_ Hana slammed her eyes shut to control her scream before bringing a hand to her head. Without turning to address him, she growled, "I _hate_ you. I hate you so much, Kuroko. You were like ten feet away a second ago!"

"I've been here for a while," Kuroko's observation drifted to the side and Hana peeked an eye open, only just catching mouth tip upward, "I thought you knew."

"Nope," Hana grunted before turning to focus on his puffy blue hair, "Not like it matters. You don't sound sorry at all."

"My apologies." _Bullshit._

"Really? I'm kind of doubting the sincerity."

There was a tense moment of stillness after her response and Hana lifted her gaze to peer up at him. She didn't think she'd said anything insulting, _for once_ , but she couldn't understand why he'd retreat into himself. The realization came when Hana followed Kuroko's focus onto a spot behind herself, meeting a wall of lean muscle and emerald hair.

 _Seriously, do they have to be so dramatic?_

"I didn't think you would make it this far," At the sound of Midorima's voice, Hana twitched, "But it ends here." His glasses frosted over from the florescent light with his final warning and he turned his full attention onto Kuroko, "No matter how weak, small, or unknown, any team can fight as long as they are together. That is an illusion. I will show you how foolish your decision was."

"No one knows what the right decision is and that is not why I've chosen what I have," Kuroko responded, face perfectly blank and deceptively innocent, "But I will disagree with you on one thing. Seirin is not weak, we will not lose."

During the confrontation, Kuroko stepped forward to stand side to side with Hana. While she'd been locked onto Midorima's threat, Kuroko had somehow managed to entwine their hand together again, squeezing twice to get Hana's attention. When she peered up at him, she shook her head and mouthed, _go on._

With only a small furrow of his eyebrows, Kuroko released her hand and moved toward the rest of the team. Instead of following, Hana stayed put.

He wasn't the only one who had something to say.

"You're really just a ray of sunshine," Hana inputted, taking a step toward Midorima. Licking her suddenly parched lips, she pushed on, "You keep repeating the same thing, over and over. It's getting old _."_

Midorima's face had pinched together, but when Hana spoke, those fierce eyes zeroed in on her. His expression remained distasteful, yet there was a hint of fire boiling underneath his response, "You are both fools, holding up this ideal. You will not win."

"Who the hell cares about winning?" Hana took another step forward before shoving her finger into Midorima's chest, "What kind of person puts so much focus on that? Yeah, it's great, but it's not this life or death thing you blabber on about. _Grow up, Midorima."_

"I'm not interested in hearing your opinions," bringing an immaculately taped finger up, Midorima pushed Hana's hand away from his personal space, "Go back to your team, Imamura."

"God," Hana removed her hand only to drag it over her face in disbelief, "You can really piss a girl off. Whatever," she closed her eyes before taking a step away. When they reopened, the coolness in her gaze stabbed right through him, "I promise you though—"

Midorima glanced away from her, forcing his face to betray nothing except disdain. When the lapse in conversation grew, he turned on his heel and began to move back to his team. Only to stiffen when Hana continued.

"I promise you," the tone was calm, adding to threat hidden in her words, "I _promise_ that when this is over, you're going to stop looking over me. You're going to goddamn acknowledge me."

 _First Quarter_

"Look at them go!" Furihata leaned forward in excitement, "We got first point!"

Only for him to sink back when Midorima blocked the ball and sent it rebounding. Furihata's disappointment exuded off his slumped shoulders and Hana could safely say she agreed with his assessment. That movement proved to be the marking measure of the first quarter until Midorima shot a three pointer.

Hana would have liked to say she'd been surprised, but that would be a lie.

"That's," Koganei frantically looked toward Riko, mouth gaping open at the height of the shot, "That's incredible!"

Riko grabbed her whistle before narrowing her eyes on Midorima's turned back, "That type of accuracy—"

"Is going to be a bitch to defeat," Hana interrupted, placing her hands on her knees to quell their shaking, "I've never seen him miss a shot, not even in our first year of middle school."

"How far is his range?" peering over Koganei's shoulder, Riko's analytic eyes bore into Hana's own. The feeling brought a foreboding shiver down Hana's spine and she shrugged out her answer.

"Maybe half—" She interrupted herself by jumping out of her seat, watching her blue haired friend dribble underneath the goal. The setup was perfect, Kagami was on their side of the court and Hana _just had a feeling,_ "I don't know what you're doing, but you better do it!"

In time with her last cheer, the ball _wooshed_ across the court like a crazy cyclone rocket, barely skimming past Midorima's startled face and into Kagami's awaiting palm. The _smack_ echoed across the silent gym before Kagami sprinted toward the hoop.

In the next second, the ball was dramatically dunked into the net.

"Hell yes!" still standing, Hana threw her arms in the air. Her eyes caught sight of Takao's shell shocked features before cheering even louder, "Go Kuroko!"

"What was that?" Koganei leaned back against the bench, bracing himself with his palms, "It went across the whole court…" _and it was goddamn beautiful!_

With a smirk, Hana crossed her arms over her chest, "Kuroko's badass pass."

"Please—" Riko groaned, but Hana heard the amusement hidden in the depths, "Tell me it's not called that."

Hana simply shrugged. She'd never looked into the official names of the boy's talents, hell she'd never even seen _that_ pass before, preferring to call them magical copycat powers or other things that should be genetically impossible to humans. Her amusement was short lived however when her eyes landed on Midorima.

She'd seen Midorima annoyed, angry, and so many other emotions the shooter pretended not to have. Yet, she couldn't recall a moment when he'd worn an expression like the one displayed now. Midorima wasn't simply annoyed, he was _pissed._

In Hana's personal opinion, pissing off the Miracles never resulted in an easy match.

The two teams were tied for now, but how long could it last? Especially with the change of pace…

A couple moments later, Hana twitched. Well the answer to her pervious question was _not very long_.

Takao, the biggest factor in her annoyance, was contributing to this. She should have mentioned her theories earlier, she should've known that he'd be able to see Kuroko and now she was kicking herself for not taking the actions required. Kuroko's passes were being intercepted left and right, leaving Hana to collapse into a further pile of self-pity.

"Takao saw him in the bathroom. Like _saw_ him," Hana offered when another pass was intercepted, "I think he has an ability like Izuki's."

"What?" Riko gaped, eyeing Takao's form as he blocked Kuroko. Each movement was matched perfectly, "Why didn't you mention that earlier?!"

 _Righteous anger, great._ Hana gawked before scooted closer to Fukuda, "I didn't think! Kagami distracted me!"

"You— you," the coach's hands twitched before pulling a strained smile. Her attention quickly turned back to the game, but Hana eyed the black waves of tension warily, "We need a time out."

The time out came minutes later, an exhausted Seirin all collapsing together on the bleachers. Ignoring Riko's glare, Hana skittered behind Kagami for protection. _Rather him than me_. Plastering a strained smile on her face, she listened to the directions issued by the coach with a hint of suspicion.

While she wasn't sure keeping Kuroko out of the game would do anything, she also didn't agree with Kagami's plan, simply because she didn't know how Kuroko would be able to keep up with Takao's skill. _We need to trade marks. He's going to get cornered and we won't be able to stop it._

Instead of voicing her concerns, she kept her opinions to herself. This was Kuroko's game and if he thought he could do it, well she had no ground to stand against him. She really freaking wanted to though. A deep sigh escaped her chest as she watched the team merge back onto the court, everyone's shoulders pressed with lead.

"How should we do this?" Riko paced in front of the grouping of benchwarmers, "There's no way we can do this without Kuroko."

"Get rid of Takao's eyes?" Hana contributed, ducking behind Kawahara when Riko shot a glare at her, "What? It's an idea!"

"No more ideas, Imamura-chan," Koganei interrupted with a sweat drop before addressing the coach, "Kagami's on Midorima and Hyuuga's shooting… as long as we can keep Takao under control…"

"Don't worry about Takao-kun for now," Riko cut in, pointing toward the court when Midorima shot the ball again, "He's got such a huge range and with that arc there isn't an easy way to block it. What do we do about that?"

Hana hummed in thought before getting off the chair and coming to stand beside Riko. Green eyes skimmed over the clipboard before a slow surge of inspiration struck her, "Hey, Riko? Did you happen to bring your camera?"

"What?" Riko frowned, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder, "I did, but Fuduka's recording—"

Spinning on her heel, Hana marched toward the freshman. Noticing her approach, Fuduka stopped fiddling with the camera's controls and gave Hana a nervous smile, "Uhm, yes?"

"You're good with that," She didn't give him time to reply before slamming down beside him. Reaching a hand out, she motioned toward the video camera's tiny screen, "You used it before, right?"

"Yeah," Fuduka tried to subtlety scoot over a bit, but his shoulder collided with Koganei's and halted his movements, "I did—"

"Focus on Kuroko," Hana scooted even closer and peered at the tiny replica on the camera's screen, "See if you can find the moment when Takao intercepts him. I don't know how Izuki's magic eyeballs work, but focus on his feet and see if there's a tell—"

The frantic dribbling distracted her and Hana glanced back to the court, losing her train of thought. The scene had changed since the last time she looked and her eyebrows steadily furrowed as she watched Kagami shoot wide, knowing he wouldn't make it.

"The hell is he doing?" Hana blinked, "He won't make that—"

It was at that moment the sound of dribbling was replaced with the pounding of Kagami's feet as he ran toward the hoop. The ball bounced off the rim and subsequently Kagami's outstretched palm before being solidly dunked into the net.

"Did…" A beat of stunned silence passed before Hana deadpanned, "Did Kagami seriously just do a one-man alley-oop?"

"He did," Furihata gaped, "That's— that's amazing!"

 _It really was._ Despite the proud grin growing on her face, Hana snorted, "He's just a ball hog."

Unfortunately, any humor Hana found in the situation was destroyed when Midorima shot the ball. _All the way from the back of the court._ Without even waiting to see if the ball made it into the net, Hana slammed her face into her knees and groaned.

"I hate him," her voice was muffled from between her thighs, "I hate him!"

The buzzer rang out, signaling the end of the second quarter, but Hana was too busy sulking to acknowledge it. Resting her rolled up body against Fuduka, she listened to the uncomfortable freshman try to comfort her, "It's okay! I'm sure we can catch up!"

As the rest of her teammates came back to the sideline, Hana finally risked peeking at the score board and subsequently scrunched her nose. _Shutoku's got a six point lead… with Midorima that may as well be a death sentence._

 _Second Quarter_

Death sentence indeed.

The second quarter wasn't going so well. With a grunt, Hana turned away from the game. Unlike the back and forth play from Seirin, Shutoku's movements had switched gears and now the play mainly focused on Midorima. The only time the ball wasn't in his possession was when a teammate passed it toward him.

Altogether, he was dominating a good seventy five percent of the game. To be frank, it pissed her off.

That wasn't the worst of it though. There seemed no way to get out of Takao's range. Everything Kuroko did, Takao blocked. The blue haired boy could hardly walk down the court without getting jammed off by the demonic imp. She could only hope Fuduka managed to catch a clue on camera. Biting her lip, Hana glanced back at the scoreboard.

 _Thirteen to twenty-four. Our loss just keeps getting bigger._

Her heart clenched and Hana forced the budding frustration away. She was falling into a pit of desolation, but she couldn't help it, there were just too many comparisons between this game and Teiko's. The realization hadn't yet become overbearing, but it was uncomfortable and as the minutes wore on, it seemed to only get worse.

Despite the terrible comparisons between this game and the ones of the past, Hana couldn't force the memories away if she tried. She… really missed her friends. With an uncomfortable swallow, jaded eyes locked onto Midorima. _Not the monsters they became_.

Meanwhile, Midorima continued to overpower the court with speed and precision. Not to mention, that little sidekick of his was stagnating Seirin's offense and leaving them floundering for purchase. It only got worse when Kagami jumped for a block only to fall short, letting Midorima score another three-points.

Letting out a frustrated hiss, Hana sunk back into the bench and eyed Kagami. Those intimidating red eyes blazed and his muscled shoulders heaved as he fought to purchase breath. The image perfectly encompassed his wild nature and Hana felt a tinge of awe.

"Holy shit," she let a low whistle, gathering the attention of her fellow bench mates, "Look at that…"

Instead of taking his defeat like a regular person, Kagami started to chuckle under his panting breath. The red-head tilted his head down, shadowing his sharp, predatory smile. The rest of the team on court paused in their retreat to look back at the ace's budding excitement. Mimicked in her own emotions, Hana could practically feel their bafflement. Unlike his normal anticipation, there seemed to be a cloying darkness that surrounded Kagami.

The recognition was startling and for a second, she couldn't swallow. A faded image of Aomine laid itself over Kagami's features and Hana slammed her eyes shut. _Too damn familiar._

"He's getting excited," Furihata whispered from his position against her right shoulder, "I've never seen him like this."

With a mocking snort, Hana peered at Kagami from beneath her lashes, "He was better off before."

"What do you mean?" Furihata blinked back at her, but she didn't give him a response.

The nagging feeling in her mind vanished and pieces of information clicked together, giving Hana insight into her own state of mind.

Her focus on the stalled players faded away until Hana was stuck in an onslaught of memories and regrets. Every time she looked at Midorima, the feeling grew stronger and the painful lump in her chest inflated. Something about this game… After months spent burying her feelings, it made the reality more prominent.

She scoffed in mental scorn. _Or it's the head injury screwing with me._ But despite her thoughts, the truth continued to reveal itself.

Kise was easy. He'd always been easier then the rest of them, the darkness never growing too heavily inside of him. But… the rest of them, _god._ She could see the flashbacks laced in purity, the slow growing mockery, and the soul crushing defeat. All of it merged, twisting into a rotten mimicry of friendship.

A friendship that she missed with every part of her being. If she wanted to be cruel, she could blame Kuroko and Kise. They'd given her a taste of the past and it forced the subconscious memories out of their hiding place, urging her heart to open again. _But…_ Hana looked back at Kagami's shaded features before firmly slamming a blockade over her aching reminiscences.

They'd changed.

Like hell she'd let her newest friend change too.

 _Half Time_

Leaning against the locker room wall, Hana closed her eyes in the all-encompassing silence. There wasn't anything left to say. Everyone's spirits were crumpled at the score, a staggering 23 to 47. Hana would like to say she wasn't as downtrodden, but she was. No matter how nervous she'd been before the game, it was nothing compared to the stabbing sensation of disappointment she felt now.

At an inquiring noise from Izuki, Hana poked an eye open, "What are you looking at, Kuroko?"

"Someone recorded Takao the first half of the game," the ghostly player looked back down to the video camera, "I'm not sure what to do with this though."

Out of her peripheral, Hana caught Fuduka's change of expression. At first, he'd looked thrilled at having contributed to the team, shoulders perking in excitement, only to have that hope crushed with Kuroko's blunt commentary. She was tempted to offer her consolation, but the rest of the freshman trio beat her too it, patting their buddy on the back with badly whisper encouragement. _Awh… screw what Hyuuga says, I want them in my gang._

Her treachery was interrupted when Izuki chuckled nervously, exchanging a look with Hyuuga, "You don't have a plan?"

"Not really," shutting the camera, Kuroko turned to face the upperclassman, "I've thought about winning, but I've never wondered if we could or not. Even if we're losing by a hundred points, there is always the chance a meteor will strike the other's bench at the last second."

 _Hmmm._ Opening both eyes, Hana pushed herself forward in consideration, "That's right. There's a ton of stuff that could happen—"

"They could get a stomach ache!" Tsuchida added, thoughtful eyes meeting with Hana's own. _Someone who understands!_

"Or they could get locked in the dressing room!" Hana pushed herself onto her knees, pointing a finger at Tsuchida in encouragement, "Or all their shoes could go missing!"

Nodding thoughtfully, her fellow schemer continued, "Maybe all the balls would deflate—"

"When you put it that way," Koganei chuckled a bit, "Our odds really don't seem that bad."

"No," Hyuuga stood up and slashed his hands out in denial. There was a tinge of amusement hidden in his scowl, but it was quickly replaced with sobriety, "No, no way. Those are crazy ideas and could never happen. Let's just keep running and think after the games over."

Calming a bit, Hana smirked, _and team mom strikes again._ Meanwhile, the team offered their agreement by sharing multiple sleepy smiles. A heartwarming aura grew around them as each person made eye contact with another, promising the same thing. _No matter what, we keep trying._

After a while, the cheerful atmosphere grew to be too much and Hana raised her hand, drawing the attention of all her teammates, "I'd just like to put in… they could totally get locked in the dressing room. You know— if we need that—"

"… _No_."

 _Third Quarter_

She had a bench buddy for this quarter and Hana nudged him in the shoulder, motioning for the camera he'd been using earlier. With a singular eyebrow raised, Kuroko handed the video camera to her before turning his attention back to the recently started game.

She said she was going to get Midorima to acknowledge her. To do that, they'd have to win. Despite Kagami's new energy, Hana wasn't sure that outcome was in the cards, but _dammit,_ she was going to try. Anything she could do would be helpful at this point and well, countering Takao would be a huge freaking help.

Pressing play, Hana watched Takao corner Kuroko again and again. After a couple minutes spent watching the same thing, she huffed. There wasn't an opening, nothing that she could see at least. Rewinding the game, she pressed play again before repeating the pattern three more times. _How would he face off Izuki? He could always stop hiding…_ In the background, she heard a loud yell and her eyes flicked back to the game.

"No," Kagami lifted his head and pegged Midorima with a fierce glare, "I won't lose!"

Next her gaze landed on the heavily breathing forms of the rest of her teammates, before glancing toward Kuroko. Unlike the rest of the players on the bench, he didn't wear a smile. His penetrating stare was narrowed on Kagami as well and Hana tapped his shoe to get his attention. Maybe he'd seen the same thing she had.

"He's acting weird, isn't he?" Hana flicked her hand toward Kagami as she handed the camera back to her friend, "More jackass-ish than normal?"

Kuroko didn't reply at first, instead he chose to trace over Kagami's every movement. Deciding against pressing for an answer, Hana turned her attention to the game as well, leaving Kuroko to his own thoughts. In the down time, Kagami jumped again, his fingers skimming across the ball and jolting Midorima's shot.

"Kise-kun gave me a warning about Kagami-kun, about his strength," Kuroko's voice had Hana turning her attention back to him, "I had hoped it wouldn't become truth."

Hana let out an exhausted sigh. Her earlier comparison between Kagami and Aomine seemed to hold truth with Kuroko as well. Unlike herself though, Kuroko probably felt the most apprehension. He'd already lost one light due to their overconfidence, he didn't deserve to lose another. _Kagami will not become that asshole._

Nudging his shoulder again, Hana plastered a mischievous smirk on her face, "He won't become like them. I'll kick his ass before he even _thinks_ about it."

"Thank you," His reply was so quiet, Hana almost missed it due to the racket of the watching crowd, "But that isn't your responsibility, Imamura-san."

Another loud cheer echoed from the stadium and Hana returned her attention back to the game, only giving Kuroko one last cursory glance. Her heart still ached, but now was not the time to digest those feelings. _Hell, I'd rather just forget them._ Back on the court, Kagami slapped the ball out of Midorima's hand, sending it bouncing all the way to Izuki. Another point went to Seirin.

 _34 to 53… still a twenty-point difference._

In the next moment, Kagami faced off against Shutoku's captain, repeating his same movement against Midorima and slamming the ball out of his hands, but not without clipping Shutoku's captain in the shoulder. At the sight, Hana grimaced before muttering a low curse under her breath. _He's being stupid again._

The referee echoed her findings, "Foul! Number Ten!"

At the call, Kagami didn't move. His body stayed positioned under the net, displaying an impressive amount of determination, but the effect was tainted by the animalistic scowl covering his face. Hana's nerves came back, ricocheting up her spine and into her fingers. _This isn't a Kagami we've seen before._

"If this continues," Kuroko's unwavering gaze never left Kagami's position, "I have a bad feeling about the outcome."

Hana had to agree.

 _Think about what you're doing, you damn tiger._

xXxXxXx

"I've never seen such high jumps," Fuduka leaned forward, almost falling out of his chair in shock, "Look at him! He's blocking all of them!"

He was. The red-head was overpowering each of Shutoku's players, forcing them to lose their hold on the ball and letting the score grow in Seirin's favor. That wasn't what concerned her however. It was the fact that it was _only_ Kagami. There was no teamwork in his movements. _He's being a selfish prick._

"Yeah…" Hana hummed, fidgeting in her seat before repeating a kinder version of her thoughts, "He _'s_ a monkey alright."

At her comment, Kuroko's shoulders deflated. Hana felt a bit guilty at the sight. Kuroko had to feel just as strongly, if not more so, as she did right now and it would do her good to keep her insults to herself. _But I can't freaking help it, they're true!_ Though she always called him a ball hog, it was usually in jest. The term had never been as relevant as it was right now.

"The gap is closing— What?" Riko jerked in shock, mouth opening in a wordless gape.

Sparing her coach a curious glance, Hana returned her attention to the game and Kagami. The ace had stalled out and his hand was placed against the floor as he struggled against his overexertion. Sweat dripped down his brow and from her position, Hana could tell his legs were shaking from the pressure. The rest of the team looked on in equal exhaustion fueled states.

"They're all tired…" Furihata whispered, "Two games in one day… we should have known it'd be too much."

"Third quarters almost over," Riko refuted before pacing the length of the bench, "We'll figure it all out soon."

The end of the quarter came too quickly with all the players sitting against the bench together. Despite their exhaustion, every boy radiated a tension that was palpable in the air. From her place next to Tsuchida, Hana watched the grouping in apprehension. The layer of unrest was present in everyone, but the object of her apprehension had his head bent, staring at the ground.

Kagami huffed, "Damn it—"

"Kagami," beside him, Izuki watched the hot-tempered ace in concern, "You're getting too worked up. Pay more attention to your surroundings."

Taking a final sip of his water, Hyuuga decided to chime in his own opinion, "That's right, you should have passed the ball first."

"What would passing have done?" Kagami lifted his head, but his eyes were locked on something far away and undistinguishable from reality, "I'm the only one that stands a chance against Shutoku, you need me to score."

Multiple voices rang out at once, but Hana only heard as her own voice broke through the uproar, "What happened to teamwork?"

"We don't need teamwork," Kagami's eyes flickered to her momentarily before discounting her words, "We just need to win."

Furihata blanched, "Hey, what's that mean?"

"He's being a selfish prick," Hana snarled. She wanted to step forward and challenge him head on, but something held her back, "Get your head out of your ass, Kagami—"

"You wouldn't understand, Imamura, so keep out of it," Kagami grunted in return, not even sparring her a glance, "We just need to win—"

Anything else Kagami had been prepared to say was cut short. Not by an interruption, not by a whistle, but by a pale fist _smashing_ into his face. One moment Kagami was sitting and the next his body toppled into a heap on the floor. With a shriek, Hana jolted backwards, making frantic eye contact with the coach. _The hell do we do?_

Despite being sprawled out onto his back, Kagami was up in a flash, fisting Kuroko's shirt ominously. His mouth pressed into a firm growl before spitting out a curse, "Dammit Kuroko!"

Kuroko didn't even blink, "You can't play basketball by yourself."

"So, you don't care if we lose?" Kagami yanked Kuroko higher, pulling against his jersey until it stretched, "As long as we play together? There's no point if we don't win!"

Sucking in a breath, Hana watched Kagami's movements almost frantically. She understood boys, she'd trained around them for _years,_ and she knew where this was going. Sure, she was violent herself, but there was something about seeing such a smaller guy getting stared down that pulled at her conscious and saturated her in tension. _If Kagami hurt's him…_

"Kagami!" Hana took a step forward at the thought, only to have Tsuchida gently grab her arm at the last second, "Calm the hell down!"

When Kuroko responded, Hana didn't know whether to strangle him or praise him, "There's no point if you win by yourself. You said you wanted to beat the Generation of Miracles, but your being just like them. If you continue this, no one will be happy."

With that last insult under his belt, Kagami raised his fist, "Don't be so naïve!"

"Don't! Kagami!" his fist smashed into the side of Kuroko's face and Hana screeched, "You bastard!"

Apparently, her banshee wail was enough for Tsuchida to startle and his hand loosened its hold on her arm. She didn't know what she was doing until she was standing in front of Kuroko and pressing against Kagami's chest with two quivering palms. This was her teammate, so she wouldn't admit to being frightened, but a part deep inside of her was. _Pretty damn terrified actually._

"Back off," she pushed again, slamming her palms into Kagami's huge chest and forcing him to settle, "Back the hell off, Kagami."

A soft throat clearing brought her attention over to Izuki, "Imamura-chan, you should step away—"

"Not until Kagami calms down," Hana swallowed, but didn't move away from Kagami. Removing her hands from his person, she met his gaze defiantly, "We're not having a goddamn fist fight in the middle of a game."

Kagami was still enraged, but when he looked down at her the burn of his gaze trickled into mere annoyance, "Move, Imamura."

"No! You need to calm your ass—"

A soft voice captured her attention and Hana peeked over her shoulder to spare Kuroko a glance. His blue hair shadowed his eyes and there was already a red mark blooming on his cheek, "Then what is victory? No matter how many points you have at the end of a game," Kuroko pushed himself to his feet, eyes meeting Hana's own before he softly nudged her aside, "If you're not happy, it's not victory."

Resembling a bull, Kagami let out a loud breath through his nose and Hana quickly snapped her focus back on him. Unlike minutes before, his shoulders were now loosened and his face was returning to its natural color. He only had eyes for one thing though and that was the crimson splotch staining Kuroko's pale face.

Sensing the lack of previous fury, Hana relaxed minutely. _Dramatic basketball players are going to be my goddamn death._

"He's—" All the attention turned to Koganei and he fidgeted under the introspection, "He's right, you know. It's not like we want to lose."

"We're just saying," Hyuuga motioned toward all the standing players, "There's no reason for you to do it all yourself."

With a sigh, Kagami looked away from the observant eyes watching him. His focus traveled across all the players, stopping separately on Hana and then landing back on Kuroko, "— You're… right. Sorry. Of course, I'd rather be happy when we win."

 _You are not getting off that easily._ Her heart was still beating in a mockery of a staccato and by god, she would not be letting Kagami forget this anytime soon. After her nerves settled, Hana huffed before dragging a hand over her eyes, "Trust me, you'll _be_ sorry."

When she looked back to Kuroko, her face faltered at his frustration. Like herself, his expression was still tainted with memories of the events, but it'd been a long while since she'd seen him genuinely upset and it struck a nerve inside her chest. One part of her wanted to wrap him in a hug and another part said get the hell away, he's _dangerous_ like this.

The hug part won out and Hana moved closer to him, only to pause. They weren't quiet on casual hugging terms yet. _Maybe a high five? That's bro-level comfort, right?_

"Well…" the new voice made her jump and the speaker, Kawahara, exchanged perplexed looks between the rest the team, "What do we do now?"

"I believe I have an idea," Kuroko moved toward the bench before grabbing the hem of his tee-shirt and pulling it over his head, "Not only can I pass, but I can take it up another level."

Ignoring the relief that spread across the multitudes of faces, Hana sidled up to Kuroko and tapped him on the shoulder. Unlike everyone else easy acceptance of Kagami's repentance _,_ Hana wasn't on the same page yet and she would bet _money_ that Kuroko felt the same way. Besides, she wanted to offer some semblance of comfort and some of the best comfort she'd ever received was exacting revenge.

When Kuroko's questioning stare met her own, a sickly-sweet grin crawled over her lips, "You know that swirly pass you did earlier? You really should work on your accuracy."

"…" Kuroko blinked, tugging the edge of his shirt back down, "I should?"

"Mhmm," resting her palms on Kuroko's shoulders, Hana twisted him toward Kagami's befuddled face, "And look! There's the perfect target!"

Seeming to catch the gist of her motives, Kagami paled, "Oi— Imamura…"

"Imamura-san," Kuroko escaped her hold easily, but his voice was deceptively neutral and held no annoyance to the manhandling, "I don't believe that's a good idea," he stepped forward and dodged past Kagami's shoulder, "We should practice inside the gym."

With a squawk, Kagami gaped after Kuroko's back before stomping after him, "Oi! Kuroko!"

 _Oh, no you don't._ Leaping forward, Hana grabbed the sleeve of Kagami's shirt, jerking him to a stop. Smothering the playfulness she'd adopted with Kuroko, Hana snapped, "If you do that again— Kagami, I _swear,_ if you do that again I will destroy you— No, _I will annihilate you_."

"Uhm— Imamura—" Kagami took a delicate step back, moving as quickly as he could toward the court center, "Erugh— I'm sorry… I won't do it again, promise _."_

"Oh, I know," Hana raised an eyebrow before crossing her arms underneath her chest. Parroting his movements, she moved away from him and tilted her head. Kagami didn't dare breath as those deadly green eyes scanned him from top to bottom before resting on his face.

After a long beat of suffocating silence, her lips twitched up into a grin, "Well, better go kick Midorima's ass. _"_

With a thankful prayer, Kagami turned on his heel and began to jog off, only to stumble at the hiss of a whisper behind him.

"… _While you still can_."

* * *

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Mementowhatever:** **Yay! Glad to hear it, thank you!**

 **Sousie:** **Thank you! Long awaited update, yay!**

 **Belladu57:** **Thank youu!**

 **Pinkus-pyon:** **Glad to hear you liked it! The re-connections are so exciting, so I can't wait to see them either! Hahaha, Akashi is definitely going to be interesting. On the final paring… I'm not sure yet. I think once everyone gets reunited I'll ask the readers opinions or I'll just make a separate chapter for each person and maybe a special one with all of them! Thank you for your review!**

 **AngelicHallows : ****Ship away my friend! I love all the ships, but I will admit Midorima is a lot of fun to write. Speaking of, lots of carrot next chapter! And I love Takao too! I'm planning on building up their friendship because he's just so entertaining. He can be a bit hard to write sometimes, but I'm glad you liked him! Thank you for these wonderful long reviews! You guys have been so good to me!**

 **Pinkdoughtnut s: ****Awh, thank you! I'm glad to hear you like it and I can promise there will be lots of Kise!**

 **Amgs:** **Life got so busy, but thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad you enjoy the story and yes, fifty long chapters of Hana madness! Thank you for sticking with me and these great reviews!**

 **Royalpurple153 : ****Ahh! Thank you! It means a lot to hear that!**

 **NicoleNightLock : ****I knowwww (it hurt to write honestly)… but he's a grumpy green haired tsundere. Thank you for your review!**

 **030artastic : ****Thank you for your reviews, they mean a lot! I'm glad you like Hana's side thoughts, like really glad! I always worry she's a bit** _ **too**_ **much… hehehe… Thank you, again! Your reviews are wonderfull!**

 **JeyaMendoz a: ****Takao is definitely a hand full, haha! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I know! I love tsunderes, they just need some hugs, but Midorima is really pushing the boundaries of love. And yeah, Kasamatsu does have a point, you've got it spot on! But all I can say is imitation isn't always about strength ;D heheheh. Thank you so much, I love your reviews!**

 **ArchimedesAckermann : ****Thank you for the review! And yes, adorable team feels**

 **RockaRosalie : ****Sorry for the long wait! Thank you for the review and kind words though!**

 **CrystalVixen : ****Thank you!**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuch : ****Midorima will get his act together eventually, but yeah, he is scary! I feel like his threatening power gets down played a lot, but that might just be me. Anyway, thank you for another great review! I love hearing your opinion on the story!**

 **CrystalViolet24 : ****Takao is awesome and I love him! He's really fun to write too and I'm so, so, so, so, happy you think I did a good job on his character. I was kind of nervous? Eeep. Still am actually, ahha. Anyway, yes, the ships! (** _ **I will go down with this shippp ~)**_ **I love writing all the cute little fluff moments between Kuroko and Kise, but there are still so many angsty reunions to go and I love the romantic tensions in those too… I've started rambling, I'm sorry! Ahh, thank you for your awesomely long reviews! I love them so much!**

 **NinjaPenguinLover : ****THERE IS NO BETTER SHIP. SHIP THEM ALL. I kid, I kid. Seriously though, thank you for your reviews! And yes! Extra Game! I'm so pumped— that is my main goal to finish this story just so I can write Gold Nash. Again, thank you!**

 **ADDBaby:** **Comic relief through pain! And yes, Kuroko would be a great avenger, all silent walking and perfect poker faces. You'd never see him coming. Thank you! I love your reviews, they're hilarious.**

 **Volley-14-Nerd : ****Yes, update! Yay, thank you!**

 **Naliyu : ****Adorable blushing tsunderes are the best. Thank you!**

 **TheParadoxicalOxymoro n: ****Noodle would through a fit, speaking of noodle… poor Kagami. I'm glad you liked the short perspectives! I was a tad worried about those, but their involvement is fundamental in the anime and like? How do I involve? So I'm really glad you liked that method, thank you!**

 **RedRaspberries : ****Oh man, sorry this took so long! I hope you can forgive me and thank you for your review! You've been around so long, it's great!**


	30. Chapter 30

**I can't feel my fingers, send help. Anyway, this is an insanely long chapter and I'm sorry. It also took forever, but my muses were not cooperating and I spent weeks going through flashes of writers block. I... I don't know if this is okay because I'm half dead and I've reread it like five time but it just keeps getting blurrier. Opps! Anyway, yay! New chapter! Yay! Final question before I go, do you guys want shorter chapters? Someone told me the length was a little excessive and I just wanted to check in with everyone. (The revised chapters one and two will be posted tomorrow)  
**

 **Warnings : Bad language, violence, and sleepy editing where I probably spelled so many things wrong.  
**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._ **

* * *

Acknowledgement

Part II

 _Seirin 46 versus Shutoku at 58._

Her poor heart couldn't take this.

Adrenaline and desperation flooded her veins, and Hana pushed herself forward to watch the game even closer. The score was way too damn close. Each mistake felt like the last one and when Kagami started to overexert himself, _again,_ Hana had to stand up and pace.

"If this keeps up," she twisted on her toes and stalked back toward her teammates, "I'm going to be ten years short on my life span."

Getting a muted nod of agreement from Furihata, she turned back to the court. Her eyes zeroed in on Kuroko and she watched her friend as he faced off against Takao again. Whatever he'd planned to combat Takao's hawk eye hadn't come into play yet and she was on the edge of her patience waiting to see the effects.

The ball traded hands, going from Hyuuga to Kagami, finally reaching its designated target of Izuki before it was shot into the net. Offense switched to defense and Kagami went to block Midorima, his legs shaking at the continued exertion. Midorima took the shot— _come on Kagami!_

"He did it!" Hana cheered when the ball was forced out of Shutoku's grasp and into Hyuuga's waiting hands. She paused, squinting at the court, "How the hell did he do that?"

Riko answered her question without looking away from the game, "He switched feet. He won't be able to keep up long, but it's the best we can do right now."

"What happens when he gives out?" Koganei leaned over Kawahara's shoulder to address the coach, "Was it really a good idea to put him back in? Won't they figure it out?"

"That's the plan," Riko brought her whistle to her mouth in thought before explaining, "If we can convince them to focus on Kagami-kun… then it allows Kuroko-kun to play."

 _I don't know about that plan…_ Hana sighed before shaking the negativity off. _It's Kuroko, he can do the impossible all the time._ She still couldn't stop the doubt that hung in her chest though. It just seemed too farfetched to accomplish the win today. _Midorima's so much stronger than I remember._

During her thoughts, the game play picked back up. It fell down to another show off between Kuroko and Takao, the blue haired boy swiftly dodging through Takao's awaiting arms. With a spin, Kuroko palmed the ball in his grasp before he brought a hand back and firmly _slammed_ his palm into the awaiting ball.

It shot through the air, right into Kagami's awaiting hands.

The resulting two points felt like a religious awakening.

"I know that pass," Hana breathed, collapsing back into her position beside Koganei, "He used it back in Teiko. It's… it's pretty crazy. I almost can't believe Kagami caught it," Hana trailed off as she watched Kagami move to the opposite side of the court, "But at the same time? Yeah, I totally get it."

Her teammates frowned and Furihata leaned toward her in curiosity, "What are you talking about, Imamura-chan? What was that pass?"

"Dunno," she shrugged, resulting in a synchronized deadpan. Shooting her teammates a halfhearted glare, Hana continued, "I mean I _know_ what it is, but I don't have a name for it. All I know for sure is he only ever used it with the Generation of Miracles, and as Aomine once said, it hurts like a bitch."

"Aomine?" Koganei's eyes grew wide, "I've heard that name before. Wasn't he one of Kuroko's old teammates?"

"Mhmm," Hana sighed before looking back out to the court. The score ricocheted up and now Seirin was only behind six points with four minutes left on the clock. Licking her lips, she returned her attention to Koganei, "He— I guess if you wanted a close comparison, just take Kagami and add about five layers of douche bag on top of his already stellar personality."

 _There I go again,_ Hana scoffed, _bringing up old memories._ It was starting to grow on her last nerve. She didn't want to think about the Generation of Miracles, not at all, but she just couldn't _freaking_ stop. Whatever happened, there was a convenient comparison with their names stamped on it. Even Akashi was popping into her mind now and then whenever she thought about possible strategies.

The worst part of it all was that it hurt, but not in the way she expected. Well, yes, it still pissed her off and made her want to riot, but there was a new tinge to her thoughts. She didn't know how to classify it and it drove her up the damn wall. It was like… that feeling when one of your limbs falls asleep? Like something was supposed to be there, yet she couldn't identify what _it_ was.

 _Screw this._ Bringing both hands to her eyes, Hana scrubbed at the dryness accumulating in the corners.

She'd figure this shit out after the match, now wasn't the time.

Time passed by slowly and two minutes later, Shutoku was calling for a time out with Seirin hanging on a thread, only two points behind. Another session of planning and straight up hoping passed before both teams moved back onto the court. When everyone cleared out, Hana's legs picked up their nervous tempo, making the whole bench jolt with the nervous movement.

"So, they figured us out," Riko sighed when Shutoku implemented their new strategy, continuously shooting three-pointers and working on the advantage of Kagami's exhaustion, "It's all up to Kuroko-kun now."

"Thirty seconds and a five-point gap," Koganei frowned as fisted his hands on top of his knees, "It's getting close."

"I can't watch," Hana covered her eyes for a millisecond before peering out again, "But I can't _not_ watch. This is too damn dramatic for a sport."

Everyone was sweating, panting, all out struggling for breath. The exhaustion wasn't only on Kagami's shoulders, but on the full court, Shutoku included. _Fifteen seconds left and it's our ball._ Hana hid her face in Koganei's shoulder, only allowing her left eye to observe the match. She couldn't take it. _We only need three points._

Hyuuga got the ball midcourt. He shot. He scored.

 _That's our three points!_

No one had a chance to cheer before the ball was back into Midorima's waiting hands, his face shadowed by determination. Removing her head from Koganei's shoulder, Hana jumped to her feet with a vengeance. _Something isn't right—_ Then it happened. Kagami jumped and Midorima faked, sending the red head to the ground.

"It's over, we're done—" She slammed her eyes shut only to pop them back open at Riko's excited squeal and she blinked back into the match just in time to see the ball rolling off the court, "Did— how in the ever loving hell?"

"Kuroko-kun blocked it!" Riko grabbed her by the shoulders before pulling the shell-shocked manager into a tight hug, "We won! We won!"

"We…" Hana blinked and allowed herself to be twirled around, "We actually won?"

As cautious eyes crawled across the court, Hana's heart slowly returned to its original tempo. There was a suspicious buildup of water that clung to the corners of her eyes, but Hana refused to accept its presence, instead looking for the familiar head of blue hair who secured the win. A true smile pulled across her cheeks as soon as she saw him.

He looked so happy. It'd been a long time since Kuroko wore an expression that pure and Hana, well, she really wanted to keep it there. The tiny smile did wonders for his normally impassive face, lightening it up until Kuroko looked almost half his age. Even as the two teams lined up, the content air resting on his shoulders didn't leave.

When her teammates began to walk over toward them, Hana didn't hesitate like she did earlier. She really wanted to hug the hell out of Kuroko and, by god, she would. Breaking her embrace with Riko, she raced out onto the court, dodging past the amused faces of the upperclassmen before barreling into Kuroko a tinge too hard.

"You did it!" Hana wrapped her hands around his neck before letting out an echoing laugh, "You freaking did it, Kuroko!"

Her ghostly friend caught himself just in time, slipping a foot back to stop the fall from Hana's over exertion. A sweaty hand fell onto her shoulder in semblance of a hug before he spoke directly into her ear, his happiness clearly more subdued, "We did it."

"…" letting go almost as fast as she attacked, Hana took a step back and beamed up at him, "Who knew you were so kickass, huh?"

"It's a combined effort, Imamura-san," Kuroko nodded his head in thanks, cheeks still flushed from the game, "But thank you."

"No problem," she wasn't sure why she was smiling so obnoxiously or why her heart had kicked up her tempo, but she'd figure it out at home. In the meantime, she had someone else to congratulate. Spotting her target at the bleachers, Hana repeated her earlier tackle, "You did it!"

Unfortunately, Kagami didn't have enough energy to hold himself up from the assault and both teens were sent to the floor. The exhausted ace moaned before pushing Hana off his chest, "What the hell was that, Imamura?"

"A hug," she crawled off the ground, dusting off her shirt in mild embarrassment, "To be fair, I didn't expect you to fall."

Kagami didn't seem to appreciate her spontaneous act of love, "I wouldn't have if you hugged like a normal person!"

"What? I didn't do anything!" Hana gaped from above him, "You're just clumsy!"

"You tackled me to the floor!"

"You tripped!"

"How is that any different?!"

xXxXxXxXx

All their belongings were put together and the team was in the process of moving toward the dressing room. The boys were all exhausted and poor Kagami was only hanging on by a thread, his eyes practically closed. With the help of Riko, the two girls were herding the exhausted players toward the exit.

It was when they passed by Shutoku's side of the court that Hana's stupid feelings decided to act up again.

So, to be honest, it wasn't random. She'd been looking over the team, curious about Midorima's reaction to the outcome. _I wonder if he'll accept it or not._ Too bad that plan was seemingly for naught because wherever she looked, she didn't see hide or hair of the shooter. The realization made her emotions give another annoying ping.

 _I'm getting really tired of this._ Even though her thoughts lamented the new phenomena, Hana couldn't stop her feet from pausing. _I'll just… check in on him. Make sure everything's okay._

"Hey," her tone was uncharacteristically distracted, and as such, most of the team turned to give her their attention, "I'm going to uhm… I need to look for someone."

"What?" Hyuuga stared at her like she'd grown a second head, "Who could you possibly—"

Hana cut him off, standing on her toes to scan the enormity of the court, "Midorima. Don't ask, I just— I don't know, I want to talk to him."

"You can't do it later—"

"Nope," this time Hana turned to address her whole team, offering everyone her most determined face, "I need to do this. It's going to piss me off until I figure this out, so I've got to go."

"Who are you and what'd you do with Imamura?" Kagami grunted from his resting place against Mitobe's shoulder, "He's not even out here."

The rest of her team seemed to echo Kagami's confusion, except for one. The look Kuroko was giving her could only be described as understanding and maybe a touch sympathetic. The blue hue of his eyes softened and while he still looked a bit perplexed by her sudden decision, he clearly understood the point she was trying to make.

"Please tell Midorima-kun hello for me," Kuroko nodded his head before continuing his path to the dressing room. "Come on, Kagami-kun. You look silly standing there."

"You're just going to accept that—" Kagami gaped after the smaller player, but Mitobe began to move and Kagami was forced to follow along.

Letting out the breath she'd unconsciously been holding, Hana turned her attention to her coach. Riko stood beside Hyuuga and both upperclassmen wore expressions of consideration. Hana knew they couldn't force her to stay, but she was trying to be the bigger person here and ask permission before wandering off for once. _In honor of our win, I will not be an asshole._

"Alright, Imamura-chan," Riko nodded once in finality, "We'll see you later okay? Try to meet back up with us out front."

"…" Hana was already moving, hastily tossing her reply out before speeding out the nearest exit, "Thanks, Riko! See you soon!"

The remaining team members looked between each other. Some wore expressions of continued confusion, while others seemed to have picked up on the undertone of Hana's actions. Hyuuga stared after the manager's back before letting out a defeated sigh.

"They sure do have a weird dynamic. All of them, Kuroko included," Hyuuga looked toward Riko for help, "Do you think we ever acted like that?"

"I don't know," Riko shrugged, but there was a secretive smile pulling at the corners of her lips, "It might just be Imamura-chan."

In a flash, Hyuuga narrowed his eyes on the coach. He knew that look, "What's that face for?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Riko let out a guiltily laugh before holding both hands up, "Just girl stuff!"

"Girl stuff? What kind of girl—"

"I said it was nothing!"

Meanwhile, Izuki hummed to himself. Something about this little situation seemed familiar. His head tilted in thought before he pulled up the memory he'd been searching for, "Ah!" when the focus turned onto him, he scratched at the back of his neck, "Sorry, just remembered something."

Hyuuga frowned, "What did you remember?"

"Well," Izuki lifted his shoulders in a miniscule shrug, "Imamura-san did say she was going to catch them all."

A pause.

"…" Hyuuga twitched before a strained smile pulled across his lips, "She wouldn't plan something like that."

Another pause.

"Right?"

The captains only answer came from the crickets that suddenly filled the air.

x

* * *

x

She was too damn impulsive.

The corridors were filled with attendees, all pushing and moving toward the exit, and Hana merged along with them, eyes perked for the sight of the gangly shooter. You'd think it'd be easy, but so far, it'd been for naught and a prickling of doubt nestled into her chest. Green eyes scanned over the assembled crowd one more time before Hana let out a stilted sigh.

 _Okay, this was a stupid decision._

Just because she'd had some crazy, spur of the moment idea didn't mean she needed to act on it.

Pausing in her steps, Hana stopped in the middle of the hallway before tugging her lip into her mouth. Sure, a part of her wanted to complete her promise of getting Midorima to acknowledge her, but the other part cautioned her with memories of his indifference. That wouldn't be fun.

Seriously, for such a reserved guy, he had a killer glare. It was like Medusa or something. Did she really want that directed at her… _again?_

 _Yeah, no. This was an asstastic idea._ Shoulders heaving in an imitation of relief, Hana spun on her heel and began to march back the way she came. Compared to all her failed plans lately, this split decision had to be the best.

The long-awaited acknowledgment could come later, when he'd cooled off.

Besides, technically it wasn't cowardice, it was _strategy._

She could talk to him over the phone or something, you know, when she had a chance to rehearse what she'd say. _Yeah, that's a good idea_. A wonderful idea. The best thing she'd ever thought of! Smile growing into a full out grin, Hana twisted around the corner, following after the couple in front of her.

Now, in her own words, this was when _shit went wrong._

In all her life, Hana thought that Kuroko would be the sneakiest little shit she'd ever meet. It might be a close second with Kise, but anyway, she thought she could handle deviousness pretty well. Figured she had a knack for it or something.

Well, she was clearly underestimating how much the universe liked to screw with her.

Because, as she turned that innocent corner, smiling at the congratulatory text from Uoya, she bumped into the last person she ever wanted to see again. Or, to be more specific, number four of the top five people she never wanted to see again.

"Umph!" as her nose collided into his back, the boy tripped forward, arms waving out to regain his balance, "Hey! Can you watch— Imamura-chan!"

"…" _You've got to be kidding me._ She wasn't doing this. With a resigned sigh, she stepped to the side to avoid her new adversary, "No. I've had enough of you."

For a moment, Hana permitted herself to believe that Takao was going to heed her wishes. He didn't make a sound and allowed her to pass by, which should have been her first clue. Yet instead of being cautious, she let out a sigh of relief and continued her walk down the hall, blissfully free of annoying point guards.

At least until a voice chirped beside her few steps later, "So, you haven't seen Shin-chan, have you? I lost him when he ran off earlier."

"Can't help you there," clicking out of the messaging app and replacing her phone, Hana pinned her most intimidating glare on the rival player. It didn't have the desired effect, "Stop following me."

Tutting, Takao tucked his hands behind his head, but not before flashing her a wounded look, "So mean. Where's the sportsmanship?"

"Game's over, I don't give a flop about sportsmanship," she ceased walking to pinch the bridge of her nose. The feeling of Takao in her personal bubble started to grate on her nerves and Hana sighed, attempting to regain politeness, "Sorry… It's great seeing you, _again_ , but damn— what will make you go away?"

Well, that was still pretty rude. At least it was nicer than her current thoughts.

"Help me find Shin-chan?" the grin Takao pulled shimmered with too many teeth. Honestly, she should have known something was up from the get-go, "It's what you were planning on doing anyway~"

She didn't move, only narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "… _how the hell?"_

"You're kind of obvious, Imamura-chan."

 _Oh bull!_ "I was literally just _walking!"_

"Awh, there's no need to deny it," Hana wasn't sure how he did it, but Takao managed to scoot even closer before tucking a sly arm around her shoulder, and _damn, he didn't look that strong!_ In the next second he was leading her down the mess of the stadiums hallways, "I saw the way you were looking at him. It was all over your face~"

She tried to dig her heels into the flooring, but it was no use, "He looked pissed— Stop pushing me!"

"Nah," Takao chuckled and Hana felt his body vibrate from the motion, "I think it was more like he was trying not to cry. You know, this was—"

"The first time he ever lost," she cut him off with a huff, "I know."

The laughter stopped for a moment and Hana had the feeling Takao was about to gift her with an unwelcomed insight. She was right, "He's a pretty sensitive guy, but you knew that don't you, Imamura-chan?"

 _Sensitive isn't quite the word I'd choose…_ Bewilderment steadily replaced her irritation and Hana squinted in consideration, "I guess—"

Takao continued on like she hadn't even spoken, "So you can get why I'm kind of worried about him. I don't really know how to comfort him though— never had a problem with losing, but _you,"_ Takao's arm tightened over her shoulder, "… You understand!"

"See, I don't like where this is going—"

"You knew how he was in middle school," Takao tugged her down a corridor with a suspicious amount of accuracy. _Something's off about this,_ "You and Kuroko-kun, both. Anyway, be nice, he's gentle."

Hana gaped, "What—"

Takao jerked to a stop, removing his arm and placing both hands on her shoulders. Another bout of manhandling later and she was facing the main exit hall of the stadium, but more specifically, Midorima's lanky figure. From her position, it appeared the boy was speaking into his cellphone, but she couldn't be certain.

They stopped about fifteen feet away before Takao quickly pulled her deeper into the shadows. Removing a hand from her shoulder, the conniving point guard motioned to his friend, "You should talk to him, Imamura-chan!"

For a moment, she just stared. There was a pun about fate rolling around her head, something about how you can't escape it or some shit, but she paid it no mind. Specifically, because she'd _definitely_ be escaping this fate _right the hell now._

"Nope," Hana tried to turn, but found Takao conveniently standing in the way. At the guiltless expression gracing his face, she hissed, "I don't know _how,_ but I know you planned this shit."

"I wouldn't—" He cut himself off when Hana took a step closer. Eyebrows raising at the silent threat, Takao backpedaled, "Okay, I may have overheard a bit of your conversation, but I didn't plan it specifically."

"Really," voice dropping into a snarl, she motioned toward Midorima's position, "I just happened to conveniently run into you? You—" a beat of silence passed before she gasped, "You followed me out here!"

"No, I really didn't!" taking a step back, Takao tried to project his innocence through a peaceful grin, "It was seriously just luck!"

"Luck my ass," Hana let out a soft scoff, "This is mutiny."

"You were going to do it anyway—"

"On my _own_ terms!"

"There's no better time than the present~"

"Oh, cut the crap— you— wannabe cupid!"

"Are…" Takao tilted his head in a distinctly puppy-like manner, "Are you insulting me?"

 _Oh, my god._ She was five seconds away from tearing her hair out, " _Yes!_ "

Instead of listening to whatever half-assed excuse that was bound to come out of Takao's mouth, Hana brought both hands to her eyes and quietly moaned. _I'm not ready for this._ Spreading her fingers apart, Hana peeked through the gaps to look back at Midorima. Even just that speedy glance had her wanting to retreat.

"Look," she lowered her voice into a careful whisper, "I get your trying to do what you think is the right thing— I think— whatever. Anyway, trust me, this isn't the right time!"

Takao merely raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"We just beat you," Hana blinked, giving him her best ' _are you serious'_ look. "What part of that says: Let's be friends again?"

"You make it sound so serious," Takao pulled a frown, spending a moment looking considerate before grinning, "All you need to do is go say hi!"

 _It's like talking to a hamster._ Hana scrubbed her hand down her face, "… I feel like you're underestimating this."

Bringing his hands behind his head, Takao hummed, "Underestimating what?"

"All this!" This time, Hana did yank on a piece of her hair in frustration, "You've been talking about our feelings for each other, but you don't seem to register how that fits in with this! I'll mess up, I'm still pissed at all of them and I don't want to hurt him—"

"You said him," eyes lighting up at the involuntary slip, Takao latched onto the proffered hint, "Do you like, Shin-chan?"

"…" her mouth gaped open, "I didn't say that."

"But it was implied~"

"No— I didn't—" Hana stopped talking, thinking over her words before a groan crawled out of her chest, "That's not— I didn't mean... Damn it all to hell."

When she met his eye, Takao seemed just as shocked by her impromptu admittance as she was. His brows lowered into a thoughtful expression, "So, you _do_ like him?"

"No!" Hana snapped, but backtracked a moment later, "Maybe! I don't know! My feelings are all screwed up from his attitude and the freaking game and then there's Kise and Kuroko too. All I know is I _care_ …" she nearly bit her tongue off as her words registered, "…oh my god, _no_! I don't want to care!"

Have you ever just been slapped in the face? Well, it hurts. Which is exactly how her mind felt right now. She'd been confused with her feelings all afternoon and when she _finally_ figures out what the hell was wrong with her, she goes and blurts it to the last person imaginable. Damn, she kind of wanted to die right about now.

When Hana gathered enough courage to peek at Takao's face, she wished she hadn't. _No one should look that gleeful._

"Woah," Takao swallowed before managing a reply, voice almost respectful, "I'm guessing you didn't mean to let all that slip?"

 _I hope I'm reincarnated into an ant, they don't have to deal with this._ While her mind curled up into a ball of shame, Hana barely accomplished giving Takao a fierce glare, "No, it's kind of a new thing… and if you tell _anyone_ —"

She didn't know what she'd do, but it wouldn't be pretty. Most of her thoughts focused on bodily dismemberment or maybe kidnap. Hell, they'd both be effective in this situation.

"No worries!" Takao stared down at her, unpredictably serious, "So, that's why you didn't want to talk to Shin-chan? You don't want to hurt him?"

"Sort of." _It'll be better to just get it all out and then kill him._ She tried to force the blossoming blush off her cheeks, but it only grew with her next words, "It's… complicated. If you'd asked me before our game, I wouldn't have given a damn about his feelings, but now it's like— I want to rebuild that stupid, old bridge."

 _God, that sounded lame_. _What am I? A manga protagonist or something?_

"Huh," Hana blinked at the noise. Meanwhile, Takao dragged a hand through his bangs, "So, why are you telling me this, Imamura-chan? I'm not the best guy with this romantic stuff—"

"Let's not go _that_ far. It's not that serious."

Takao continued like she hadn't interrupted him, "— But I like Shin-chan… and you know what," a cunning grin grew on his face making Hana's hope for an easy life rot and die in her chest, "I like you too, Imamura-chan. So, I'll help! Promise it'll all turnout okay!"

 _He'll help?_ That didn't sound good.

Green eyes scanned over the point guard, watching his expression for any warning signs. From what she could tell, there wasn't any judgement or anger in his expression, but there were _clearly_ several warning signs. The biggest one being the shit-eating grin spreading over his face. The second one was the unholy shine in his eyes. She didn't like either.

"Uhm, no?" Hana took a step back, on the edge of hysterical, "No, no you don't need to help. _Please—_ "

He ignored her,instead choosing to step out of their hiding place and into the middle of the hallway. With a jaunt to his step, Takao waved his arms around almost wildly, drawing the attention of everyone around them, including Midorima. She'd never hated someone as much as she did in that moment. _He's dead._

When he noticed the green haired teen's attention, Takao cupped his mouth with one hand and _screeched_ , "Shin-chan!"

 _I'm going to pull out his vocal chords._ Despite her violent thoughts, Hana felt her heart stop and one, poor hand reached out half-heartedly. All she wanted to do was grab Takao and yank him back into the shadows, never to be seen again. Meanwhile, Midorima focused in on his teammate with a level of exasperation Hana hadn't experienced before. _What have I done to earn this shit!?_

This was all going too fast. She wasn't ready for this! Don't people usually have more time to handle stuff like this? _Seriously, life altering revelation shouldn't be rushed!_ Apparently her conscious disagreed and an annoying voice in the back of her head spoke up, _you're being a coward, Hana-chan._ It sounded disgustingly like Iseri and Hana decided she hated it.

Dammit.

"…" she groaned in the shadows, dragging a sweaty palm over her eyes. One last glance at Midorima before she pulled on her big girl panties and stepped out next to the Shutoku point guard. When she was close enough, she kicked Takao in the ankle, "Just so you know, you're on my shit list for the rest of your life."

"It'll be worth it," Takao smirked, but it drooped a bit when he noticed the tension radiating off Midorima, "… maybe?"

He didn't look angry, per say. His shoulders were tight and his movements were clearly restrained, so he was probably more annoyed than anything, but Hana would bet that Takao understood Midorima's moods better than her. So, when Takao started to look a little too pale for comfort, Hana could safely assume this had been a really _, really_ bad idea.

Each step her former friend took felt like a death bell, signaling the end of her poor, mortal life.

Finally, the last bell tolled and he stood a few feet ahead of them.

"Takao," the pristine finish of Midorima's glasses flashed over, his head turning just enough to acknowledge his teammate, "What did you need?"

 _Woah._ Annoyed Midorima had always been an interesting sight, but pissed Midorima was a tad more discomforting. She'd never paid much attention to how tall he was, simply because she usually had Murasakibara to compare him too. But next to Takao, who was only a few inches taller than herself, well, Hana damn well noticed how Midorima loomed over both of them.

"Hey, Shin-chan," Takao stiffened at the direct address before shooting Hana a pressing gaze and promptly throwing her under the freaking bus, "Imamura-chan really needs a ride! Do you think she could tag along?"

This time, Midorima did turn to look at her. The glare covering his glasses moved out of the way and Hana was pinned in place by his assessing look. Seconds seemed to turn into minutes until the spell was broken when Midorima brought a tapered finger up to lift his glasses. Whatever he found in her expression had him turning his back.

Well, Hana didn't particularly enjoy that.

Just because he was going to be rude didn't mean she had too, "Uhm. Hey, Midorima," she spared Takao a glance, catching his encouraging grin, "So, you did good today— you've gotten a lot stronger. Like whole court shots? Damn."

 _Maybe that was a bit too much ass kissing?_ Each second of silence that followed her statement seemed to be laced with lead. Finally, Midorima graced them with a response.

"I don't care if she comes," Midorima's voice ricocheted from over his shoulder, "But I'm leaving, don't dawdle Takao." He didn't make it very far before suddenly stopping, "Your team did well enough to win today, but it won't last, Imamura."

 _A compliment?_ Her eyebrows steadily rose to her hairline. _Was that a compliment?!_

"Was—" Hana broke herself off to gape after Midorima's back. Blinking a couple times, she finally managed to shout after him, "Was that like— okay, ignoring the threat part, are we okay? Are we going to actually talk now?"

She shouldn't have been surprised when he didn't answer _._

 _What the hell is going on? Was that like a backwards form of approval? It sounded a little too threatening…_ Wide eyed and gaping, Hana spun around, looking helplessly at Takao.

"See," Takao threw his hands out in accomplishment, "You guys! You're all so dramatic! That wasn't hard at all."

 _We still haven't talked though._ She slumped against the nearest wall, "I don't understand what happened."

"Heh," Takao let out a suspiciously toned giggle, "I'm pretty sure that was the acknowledgement you were so worked up about."

"Really? Cause it kind of feels like I just got slapped in the face," Hana admitted, bringing a hand up to her forehead with a longsuffering sigh. "His emotions are all jumpy. One second he acts like I'm a spec of dirt and the next he's complimenting me and acting all—" she motioned about wildly, " _blah."_

Another bout of laughter nearly sent Takao into hysterics, but he caught himself just in time, "Blah?"

"How else would you describe it?"

With ease Hana hadn't been expecting, Takao was grinning five inches away from her face, "Romantic tension?"

Her right eye twitched in warning, "Not the best time."

"You're right," Takao admitted before grabbing a hold of her arm and pulling her forward, "Come on, Shin-chan's probably waiting for us!"

"Woah, woah, _woah,"_ Hana snapped, barely keeping her balance as she was dragged ahead. His earlier explanation failed to register until now, "I'm supposed to meet back up with everyone! Jesus! Stop grabbing me so much!"

"I'm sure your team won't mind, Imamura-chan! Besides, I said I'd help!"

" _This is kidnapping!"_

xXxXxXxXxXx

Her life was a perpetual cosmic joke.

Poking at the wooden rail behind her, Hana pursed her lips. _This is wonderful craftsmanship._

While she pretended to be a procurer of fine woodworking, the truth was that the atmosphere around her was just too awkward to accept. Though, it wasn't really the physical sense that had her nerves aflame. The night was dark and the clouds were bunching in the sky, forming an impressive display of fluff. Even the cart ride was enjoyable, if only for the fact she enjoyed watching Takao suffer.

No, it was her fellow passenger that caused her current discomfort.

Midorima sat directly in front of her, his back to the right side of the cart. In order to accommodate herself, he had tucked his legs toward his body and looked laughably uncomfortable. Still though, he refused to admit to the discomfort. Much like he'd been doing with everything else.

Other than a brief nod of hello, Midorima hadn't spoken to her since Takao shoved her into the cart. At first, Hana was thankful because it let her digest everything. But now, she was bored and she'd already examined every square inch of the cart that she could handle. Her mind flickered back to Takao's parting encouragement, _You guys can talk! He can't run away now!_

Turns out Takao was a pretty good helper, even if he was just doing it for his own entertainment. And, hell, she might as well take advantage of it.

"So," Hana readjusted herself until she could look Midorima in the face, "Wonderful weather we're having."

Both of his green eyebrows rose, "There is a ninety percent chance of rain for the evening."

"…" her cheeks heated before breaking eye contact.

"If there's nothing you need to say, there is no need for mindless small talk," Midorima brought one taped finger up to the bridge of his glasses. She twitched, smile cracking.

"Okay, so you'd rather I jump straight into it?" Hana let a bit of her temper bleed into her words, "Just go out and ask why you've been a giant asshole for the past week? Because I thought you'd prefer talking about the weather."

She swore the temperature of the cart dropped about ten degree's with Midorima's resigned sigh. Taking his glasses off, he rubbed them against his shirt before replying, "I have nothing to explain."

Her smile broke completely, falling off her face. _Yes, you really do!_

"There is so much to explain!" Hana scooted forward as much as she could in the cramped area of the cart, "I'd like to know what I did that pissed you off so much, because from what I remember… actually I've got nothing. I'm pretty sure _I'm_ the one who's supposed to be pissed."

A dark sheen fell over his face, but Midorima turned his head before Hana could catch the full expression. Again, the cart fell silent, only interrupted by Takao's random, off-tune humming. A full minute passed with Hana listened to squeaking of the cart's wheels before she heard a light scoff. Raising her eyebrow, her green eyes met with equally bright twins.

"Did you just scoff?" Hana stared, pulling an affronted expression, "I'm trying to have a moment and you scoff… _rude_."

"Are you repeating the same spiel you gave to Kise?" Midorima replaced his glasses primly on top his nose, "Because your attempt for sympathy is lacking."

"Attempt for sympathy?" now, Hana was full out gawking, "I'm not— I'm trying to like, re-friend you! Stop being such a dick about it!"

Really, _why_ did she care about these guys? Honestly, Kuroko was understandable, but the rest of them? No, not so much. _But nooo, I just had to be stupid again._ Bringing her hand up, Hana pinched the bridge of her nose. _I hate this._

Taking a deep breath, she tried again, "I'm not trying to get sympathy. Jesus Christ, I'm not stupid. I'm just… just trying to figure this out. I get it, we aren't the same people we were in Teiko, but hell, I can't stop missing our friendship and it's stupid, but I'm trying here even though I really want to punch you all in the face—"

She cut herself off. Something she'd said during her speech resonated with Midorima because now the green haired shooter sported a bright blush. Scooting closer, Hana narrowed her eyes on his face, hoping to magically understand. The longer she looked, the livelier the flush became. _What did I say now?_

"You're blushing," her mind tried to piece together what was happening, but something wasn't clicking into place. Copying Takao's past movement, she pushed her face into Midorima's personal bubble, "Why are you blushing?"

"Im– Imamura!" Midorima leaned back at the close contact, emerald eyes widening, "What— it's nothing! S-sit back down!"

 _I will do no such thing!_ Hana upped the potency of her glare, "I just want answers!"

"It's warm, tha— that's all! _Sit down!"_

"I'll sit down when you explain what's going on!"

"This is _unsafe!"_

"Hey!" Takao yelled from ahead, dangerously swerving the bicycle that drove the cart, "Calm down! Shin-chan, just tell her you missed her too!"

With a yelp, Hana collapsed onto her ass, grabbing the side of the cart for dear life. A frantic glance at Midorima showed him doing the same before he quickly altered his expression into fury. Hana could agree with the emotion, but she'd rather her newest helper live to see another day.

"Okay!" Hana leaned forward onto her hands and knees, shakily flicking Takao in the back of the head, "We're behaving, now drive on the right side of the road."

"Thank you," Takao tilted his head over her a shoulder, a sunny grin gracing his features, "You're so nice, Imamura-chan!"

It would have been a kind gesture if Takao hadn't ruined the effect by his simpering wink. His angular face practically screamed mirth, thoroughly enjoying the awkward conversation going on behind him. For the millionth time that day, Hana cursed her mistake of opening her mouth anywhere near the unholy point guard.

Her face fell into a deadpan and, in childish retaliation, Hana flicked him in the head again, "Shut up."

Ignoring the resulting cackle, Hana fell back into her seat. She could feel the blush that dotted her cheeks, and with a glance toward Midorima, noticed him in the same predicament. Instead of making eye contact with her though, he turned his head toward the road and firmly crossed his arms over his chest.

"Soo," Hana drawled, rubbing one hand over her cheek to diffuse the evidence. Her tongue dried up, but she forced herself to press on despite the growing nerves, "You missed me? I mean, that's cool, makes this a lot less weird. You did right? Because this will be really awkward if you didn't because I kind of did—"

Causing the cart to creak ominously, Midorima turned toward her, raising one dubious eyebrow.

"Not like— I mean it's not a big deal," Hana continued to babble, now using her hands to display her point, "If you missed me or I missed you. Hey, who cares, right? It's all okay— no awkwardness here—"

Midorima cleared his throat, "Imamura—"

"I just wanted to talk about it you know, without all the jackass-ness," she waved a hand over Midorima's form, "What's up with that anyway? I totally get being mad, I'm always mad, but I thought it would have worn off by now. Why are you mad? What'd I even _do?"_

"… Imamura."

"Because if I did something I apologize— wait, no I don't. I don't even know what I did—"

"Ima—"

"Just tell me what I did!" Hana let out a long breath, struggling to regain her momentum, "I want to be friends again because I miss you, I think, and I can't do that when you don't tell me why you're such a grump! Like, come on, I'm trying here—"

" _Imamura,"_ Midorima finally succeed in stopping her ever growing montage and Hana slammed her mouth shut. With a long-suffering sigh, Midorima pinched the bridge of his nose, "Slow down, you fool. It's— the past is no longer important."

"I damn well beg to differ," she flinched a little at the glare he gave her, but pressed on, "I need to know so I don't do it again— whatever the hell _it_ was _."_

 _And we have more silence!_ Whatever success she'd had in breaking Midorima's emotional barriers disappeared and Hana let out a groan. She was so tired of opening up and getting shut down, but, if he didn't want to talk, well, no point in forcing the impossible.

Meanwhile, Midorima returned to his vigil of the street. A layer of unease settled around the cramped space of the cart, not even broken by the odd stares they were receiving from fellow pedestrians. Even Takao had stopped his obvious humming, _thank god._ Finally, after seemingly eons of waiting, Takao broke the air with a long winded sighed.

"You guys are horrible at this," the black haired point guard didn't even turn around to look at them, simply choosing to shout over his shoulder, "Shin-chan's pouty because you left—"

Midorima snapped, " _Takao!"_

"It's healthy to share your emotions, Shin-chan!"

Hana's thoughts fizzled to a stop. _Now, hold up._

Brow puckering, Hana pointed an accusing finger at Midorima, "Are we talking about back in Teiko? You're mad I left? I'm _so_ not apologizing for that, friendship or not!"

"That's— that's not— _Takao!"_ Midorima blustered about for a second, cheeks flushing and losing their color in repeated sequences, "It's nothing of the sort!"

"Oh, no you don't. We're finally getting somewhere," Hana moved from the left side of the cart to squeeze onto the right side, her body pressed up next Midorima's feet. She spouted off her next question with god-like speed, "Why did that make you mad? Just tell me—"

Midorima huffed, turning his head away from hers so fast Hana was surprised his glasses didn't fall off. Bringing his hands into his lap, both in tight fists, he glared at the back of Takao's head before spitting out a reply, "Don't let it go to your head. I simply assumed you intended to return."

"… _What_?" Hana had a feeling her face looked hilariously contorted due to her confusion, "What part of that implied I'd come back?"

"Nothing I'm sure," she swore if Midorima's face could make the expression, he'd be pouting right now, "As I told you, the past is not important."

With a scoff, Hana grabbed a fistful of her hair in frustration, "Uhm, kind of turning out to be pretty important right now. Man, that's why you've been so pissy? I can't fix that—"

"Obviously," his tone was derisive and he still refused to turn her way, though from what she could see, his ears were painted red.

"Don't get snappy," Hana huffed, slumping against the side of the cart. _The hell do I do now?_ Closing her eyes, she took a leap of fate and did what she did best, wing it. "Look, I can't fix that shit. Sorry it hurt you, but I'm not sorry I left. You guys sucked major ass."

The cart swerved with the noise of Takao's surprised grunt. _Huh, forgot you were there for a second._ Instead of paying attention to the third-wheeler, Hana focused on Midorima, watching the way his back straightened in defense.

"But," Hana raised her voice to cut off whatever scathing remark he planned to deliver, "This is now. You were right, the past doesn't mean shit. So, let's throw all that bull out the window, and in case I'm not being clear enough, I'm extending the hand of friendship. Dear god, please take it. I cannot deal with anymore rejection—"

"…"

"It's a yes or no question, seriously."

Head tilting a bit toward her, Midorima pierced her with a calculating look. He didn't answer verbally, she wasn't really shocked at that, but he did nod his head in slow agreement. With that simple movement, all the tension eased out of her body and Hana let out a relieved chuckle. _Success!_

"This doesn't change anything," Midorima finally spoke, "Your whole argument was pointless."

"Whatever you say, but man, thank the lords. That was annoying," she laid a hand on her forehead, taking a moment to enjoy the night time air. _Everything's okay._ Moving her hand down to cover her mouth and her growing smirk, she peeked at Midorima. She just couldn't resist, "Do we hug it out now? I feel like we need to hug it out—"

His answer was fast as lightening, " _No."_

"That's what I did with Kise though."

"Don't compare me to that idiot."

"It's just a hug—"

"No, Imamura."

Takao took away her chance to respond by obnoxiously clearing his throat. When the back of the cart silenced, their driver took that moment to voice his own opinion, "You guys are ridiculous. Now that that's over, can we go eat? I've been biking in circles for twenty minutes and my feet _really_ hurt."

x

* * *

x

The happiness she felt was similar to finding a mirage in the desert.

The little restaurant looked like a godsend. It's sign lit up in the darkness of the night, broadcasting a warm orange glow of happiness. Even the old wooden doors radiated home and Hana smiled at the scrumptious smell that wafted out of the doors. Unfortunately, the beautiful spell was broken when a loud rumble came from the head of the cart.

"Man," Takao rubbed his stomach, jumping off the bicycle, "I'm starved!"

Wrinkling her nose, Hana tried to gracefully descend from the back of the cart. A few minutes ago the rain had finally began to fall from the sky and she glared up at the menacing looking clouds. All of their little group now had a sheen of water clinging to their hair, and in Midorima's case, dripping down their glasses.

"Well," Hana nudged Midorima in the side as soon as she was safely on the ground, "Looks like you were right about the weather."

"Of course," Midorima replied smugly, wiping a hand through his damp hair, "Oha-Asa is never wrong."

A pause, "There is no way in hell your horoscope warned you about rain _._ "

Midorima looked down at her in disbelief, probably ready to correct her lack of belief on his beloved horoscopes. But, luckily in Hana's opinion, the sky broke out into a bright display of lightening followed by a booming echo of thunder. In sync, the little party turned to look behind them, all eyes growing wide at the encroaching storm cloud.

It was unanimously decided that they should all hurry up and get the hell inside _._

Takao of course got there first, stomach grumbling the whole way, "Sir, do you have room for three—"

He broke off as Midorima walked in behind him and Hana behind Midorima, closing up the back of the pack. All three teenagers stood awkwardly in the door for a moment, trying to process what they were seeing. Meanwhile, all of Seirin and two surprise guests stared back at them with equally stunned faces.

"Woah," Hana whistled in the silence, peeking between both Midorima's and Takao's shoulders, "This is weirdly coincidental."

Unsurprisingly, Hyuuga broke his silence first, "Imamura?!" He gawked at her for a minute before turning his gaze onto the Shutoku players, "What are you doing here?! Where's the rest of your team?"

"We lost the upperclassmen while Shin-chan was crying," Takao was in the process of explaining, thankfully drawing the attention away from herself. With that, Hana decided to use the time to observe the rest of her teammates, gaze landing on Kuroko and Kagami, along with their surprise guests, Kise and Kasamatsu.

Meeting her eye, Kagami puffed up like a wet kitten, "You were supposed to come back!"

 _Not my fault man!_ Hana held her hands up just in time to coordinate with Midorima's embarrassed anger. The green haired shooter stared at the assembled group before turning on his heel, "We're going somewhere else."

With that, both Shutoku players were out the door, leaving Hana to stand in the middle of the room alone. As everyone continued to stare at her, _I'm not a damn zoo animal_ , she brought a hand to her forehead, "One, two, thr—"

Not even three seconds later, Takao and Midorima were back into the restaurant, sopping wet.

"I'm guessing you're staying?" Hana raised an eyebrow, only to break out into a grin when Midorima glowered at her, "Calm down, grumpy ass. It's not that bad. We can get a table—"

In the background, Hana failed to notice the way Seirin and company gaped at her easy attitude to their former rival. Even Kuroko's eyebrows rose in slight surprise, but it was nothing compared to Kise's full out gawk. With all parties trying to understand what was going on, two things happened at once.

One, Takao noticed Kasamatsu, "Hey! You're Kasamatsu-senpai!"

Two, Kise sat straight up and offered Hana a charming smile, "You can sit with us, Imamura-cchi!"

Hana didn't even have a chance to reply before Takao somehow convinced Kasamatsu to join him at Seirin's table along with the freshmen. This action left Midorima and Hana standing together, both still center heads of the attention. After everything settled, Hana looked at Kuroko and the Kise and Kagami duo, then to Takao and Kasamatsu's position.

The choice was easy.

Which was how Hana found herself sitting beside Takao with Kasamatsu on his other side. Leaning her chin on her palm, she looked back over to Kuroko's table, forever thankful with the wonderful choice she made. Poor Midorima was stiffly trying to get to his chair, while Kagami and Kise glared at each other and him respectfully, and Kuroko watched on eternally impassive.

"I'm surprised you aren't over there, Imamura-chan," Takao cut into his food, plopping a bite into his mouth, "I thought you'd want to see all your old friends~"

Poking at her noodles, Hana shot him a blithe look, "And be all around that tension? No thanks. Besides they're just going to do that thing where they stare at each other."

"S—s—stare at each other?" Kasamatsu's voice came from around Takao's shoulder, but his face was hidden from Hana's view, probably allowing him to better control his stutter, "Wha—what do you mean?"

"Look," Hana used a fork to motion toward the table of miracles, "Just look and watch."

All the table turned to watch the group of four, heads merging together in the center to get a better view. Like she said, all four boys were sitting stiffly in their seats, watching one another. Even Hana was surprised with their intensity. _Is… Kagami even blinking? Dude._

Kasamatsu was one of the first to look away, giving Takao a knowing look, "You planned this, didn't you?"

Without wasting a second, Hana chirped, "You know he did."

A flustered Takao spoke at the same time, "No! Of course not."

"…" swallowing her food, Hana tilted her head to the right and gave Takao a pointed glance, "You're a terrible liar."

"Imamura-chan!" Takao brought a hand to his heart in faux betrayal, "How mean! Even after I helped you with—" he broke off with a strangled cough, " _Ow."_

Hana brought her drink forward, sipping unknowingly, "My bad, my foot slipped."

"Into my shin?"

"Opps."

 _At the Table of Overpowered Basketball Players_

An obnoxious aroma of food circled around the group, all originating from Kagami's inhuman amount of plates. Kuroko lifted a piece of food to his mouth, large blue eyes watching his former teammates unblinkingly. To the left of Kuroko, the blonde copy-cat tried to put on a pleasant face, but nothing could hide the way he twitched at Kagami's every bite.

On the other hand, Midorima was doing nothing to hide his opinion, nose tilted into the air and his arms crossed tightly above his uniform.

"Oh, come on, Midorima-cchi," Kise raised two dubious eyebrows at the unhappy air surrounding the shooter, "I know losing sucks, but yesterday's enemies are tomorrow's friends!"

Eyes still closed, Midorima scoffed, "I just lost to him."

Bringing his elbow on top of the table, Kise rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. Golden eyes sharpened on his former teammate and a buttery smile sliced across his face, "But you're being so nice to Imamura-cchi. She's on Kuroko-cchi's team too."

That little taunt gained the attention of both Kuroko and Kagami. Kuroko paused with a bite of food inches away from his mouth, flicking his gaze between the two former miracles. Unlike his shadow, Kagami simply continued to eat, though his attention wavered between eavesdropping and digesting.

"That's none of your concern," Midorima snapped before opening his eyes and pinning Kise with a glare, "You already lost to them once, how can you stand sitting with them?"

"Can you blame me for being curious? I didn't think you two would make up so easily," Kise flicked his knife toward the two Seirin players in question, "And the answer's simple, I just won't lose next time."

"Bring it," Kagami cut into the feud with a mouth full of food, shark like grin stretching over his cheeks, "We'll be waiting."

Kise's eyes flashed toward Kagami at the direct challenge, golden flecks flickering in anticipation. Even Midorima tilted his head to the left, staring down at the red-headed ace in contemplation. Kagami's grin only grew into a smirk, perpetually clueless to the specks of food dotting his cheeks. Kuroko continued to eat.

"They're doing it again!" a poorly executed whisper caught all their attention, "They just stare at each other! They do it in the middle of the games too— and they're looking at me, aren't they?"

"Well, you're not exactly quiet, Imamura-chan," Takao leaned around the girl's shoulder and waved, "Hey, Shin-chan! Enjoying your food?"

Midorima didn't get a chance to reply before a small hand covered the point guard's face and pushed him back. Hana grumbled, "You don't understand the concept of personal space, do you?"

After that, the contact with their neighboring table was broken as Hana returned to her conversation with Takao and the stuttering Kasamatsu. There was a theatrical whine and suddenly all the table's attention was directed back onto Kise. His eyes were still sharp with the promise of retribution, but his lips were jilted into a frown.

"Why didn't Imamura-cchi sit with us?" His eyes flicked to Midorima accusingly, "She's awfully close with your teammate, Midorima-cchi."

Placing his utensil down, Kuroko offered his own insight, "Before our game she was complaining about Takao-kun, though her words were much less pleasant."

"Huh?" Kagami frowned, bits of unidentifiable mush hanging off his fork, "When'd that happen?"

"I believe it was around the time you two began to bicker again," Kuroko sucked on his drink, innocently blinking at Kagami's glare. Midorima raised an eyebrow at the new insight of information, quickly glancing toward the teammate in question before tuning back into the conversation.

With a huff, Kise pouted down at his empty plate, "Well, I don't like it. Imamura-cchi's making too many friends with other teams."

"Kise-kun," Kuroko blinked, "You're on a rival team as well."

"But I don't count!" Kise moaned, collapsing into his seat, but not without giving Takao a halfhearted glare when he caught sight of Hana's grin, "We knew her first."

Eyebrows hidden in his hairline, Kagami gaped at Kise, "The hell? What are you, her brother?"

"No," Kise was still pouting, but even with his lip protruding out, he somehow managed to look affronted. "I'm just worried! She's too nice sometimes."

"…" the whole table seemed to pause at the description, while Kagami voiced his opinion openly, "Nice? Bullshit."

"You're still an idiot, Kise," Midorima pinched the bridge of his nose with a disgusted sigh, "And I foolishly thought something about you had changed."

"Hmm?" Kise straightened up, leaning forward to meet Midorima's challenging look, "What do you mean, Midorima-cchi?"

"Your eyes…" Midorima spoke matter-of-factly, causing both Kuroko and Kagami to look toward the two, "They've changed."

Kise flailed backward, "My eyes? What about them?" he seemed to pause, thinking over his answer for second, "Huh, maybe it's because I've been practicing more since we played against Kuroko-cchi? It's been pretty fun playing basketball with Kaijo."

"It seems I'm mistaken," Midorima sighed, lowering his head in an expression of repulsion, "It seems you've simply gone back to your ways before our three championship wins."

The words sent a wave of shock through the table. Kise blinking at the disenchanting explanation, Kagami pausing, and Kuroko setting his drink down once again. While they were involved in another match of _who's basketball is the best,_ all four boys missed the activity happening on the table beside them.

 _Meanwhile_

"Don't do anything crazy," Kasamatsu warned, watching the food fly up into the air under Takao's guiding hands.

"Don't worry," Takao grinned, catching the monjayaki then flipping it once again, "I've got it under control. Don't you think— Imamura-chan?"

"Huh?" Hana barely spared Takao a glance, her head leaning so far to the left she risked falling out of the chair, "Yeah— yeah, you've got it."

Takao made an injured noise, "You didn't even look."

"Sorry, kind of busy," Hana leaned a little bit further, trying to hear Kuroko's response to Midorima's claim, "I'm eavesdropping. You should hear them… it's like a soap opera my mom used to watch."

"Huh, really?" Takao caught the food again, "I still can't believe you chose to sit here."

"What do you mean?" Hana finally turned away from her useless pursuit, tilting her head in Takao's direction, "I already told you it's too dramatic over there."

"Yeah—" He barely caught his monjayaki on the next throw and gave the table a sheepish look before continuing, "You mentioned Kuroko-kun and Kise-kun when we were talking though—"

Feeling a spike of alarm, Hana stiffened, " _Don't_."

At the tone, several curious heads rotated her way. No one understood what had caused her alarm and Hana damn well planned to keep it that way. If that plan included murdering Takao in cold blood, well, then so be it.

Takao didn't heed the obvious warning and instead continued down the path to his death, "Is it just three of them?" He flipped his food again and shot Hana an impish look, "Or _all_ of them?"

"… I'll kill you. _"_ _I mean it._

"I'm not judging," he caught the monjayaki and prepared to throw it, "Just curious! You know, I bet it's all of them—"

Poor Takao, he hadn't been prepared. The words were barely out of his mouth when Hana jolted her elbow into his arm, messing up the toss he'd been attempting and causing the food to fly sideways. The whole table fell into a hush as they watched it soar across the restaurant in a perfect arc, aiming for the unknowing target.

 _Splat._

It landed perfectly on top of Midorima's head, accentuating his green strands like a very soggy hat. With an unexpected synchrony, the table sucked in a dry breath and waited for the incoming outburst. Takao, in particular, started to shake with nervous anticipation, arms still raised in a showcase of guilt.

"Imamura-chan," Takao hissed the words from the corner of his mouth, " _Why?"_

Hana wasn't exempt from the apprehension, but she only shrugged, "I didn't plan that part… it just kind of happened _?" Can't say I'm disappointed though._

Still wearing his new headwear, Midorima rose from his chair stiffly. Bright green eyes flashed across their table, grazing over her own face before landing on the obvious target. With fury shining in his eyes, Midorima moved from his chair toward their own table. As he was walking past, he called out his command.

"Takao, come here."

"…" Takao looked at Hana, sweat dripping down his brow. Whatever he expected to find in her expression wasn't there and, with a forlorn sigh, he followed Midorima outside the restaurant, "Sorry! I'm sorry!"

Their table fell into hushed silence again, but this time every eye was on her. The Seirin freshmen all wore various expressions of terror and even her upperclassmen at the neighboring table looked shocked. Well, Hyuuga looked a tad bit proud, but that was to be expected whenever someone got a well-deserved punishment.

"All I have to say is," Hana brought her drink back to her mouth, "He had it coming."

In the stillness, a soft snort escaped and Hana looked to the right. Her eyes widened when she saw Kasamatsu's shocked amusement, but when they made eye contact, the upperclassman swiftly looked away with a blush spreading all the way to his ears. _Huh, I guess all captains like punishment. Kinky._

After a quick succession of loud thumping noises, Midorima walked back into the restaurant, smoothing out the ruffled appearance of his uniform. When he walked by Hana on his way to retrieve his bag, his eyes narrowed, silently telling her he knew of her involvement. Hana could only offer a shaky smile and hope he finished taking all his anger out on Takao.

Seemed she got lucky. Midorima rolled his eyes, moving past her without a reprimand. Hana emotionally cheered in relief while simultaneously listening to Midorima speak to Kagami, "There are two Generation of Miracles in this district, myself and Aomine Daiki. He plays in the same style as yourself."

"What?" Kagami tilted his head up to stare at Midorima, "I don't really get it, but he's strong, right?"

 _Award for understatement of the century,_ Hana clapped mentally. _You go Kagami!_

"He's strong," Kuroko ducked his head with his agreement, "But I don't approve of his style of play."

And there goes any lasting amusement from Takao's plight. Looking toward the shortest boy at the table, Hana's shoulder's slumped at his depressed air. Even if he hadn't told her specifically, it was obvious Kuroko didn't like to think about his former light and whenever he did, his mood darkened. _I can't stand sad Kuroko._

So, she decided to break the tension.

Leaning across the alley way between the two tables, Hana tapped Kagami on the shoulder, "Unless you have a pair of boobs hidden in all that six-pack, he's going to dominate the court."

 _Okay, you guys don't have to look at me like that._ Four heads of colorful hair looked at her in various degrees of discomfort, Kagami's the strongest. The big red-headed lug even had the audacity to cup his pecs in horror. _Really?_

"Don't judge," Hana merged back into her seat fully, "Momoi keeps me updated with her gossip; I know all your mortal weaknesses."

That didn't seem to comfort any of them except Kagami. The Seirin ace was now looking at her thoughtfully and Hana didn't quite know how to feel about that. _Maybe we can trade? He'll finally be my bodyguard and I shall be his mentor in all things regarding the rainbow brigade._

"Okay," Midorima stared at her for a second, green eyebrows furrowed at the subtle threat she presented. He didn't comment though and instead walked toward the exit, throwing a parting out over his shoulder, "Well, I wish you luck."

"Bye," Hana called out after his back, moving her knife in an imitation of a wave. "It was good seeing you, text me or something," she raised her head to pin him with a probing look, "Or I'll show up at your school."

She did not go through all that damn trouble for their friendship to not blossom. No, this friendship was going to grow into a beautiful flower. If she had to show up at his school and hang out with Takao, she'd damn well do it. _Maybe I can befriend the rest of his teammates too?_

"Midorima," Kuroko stood after Hana finished her parting line and she flipped her attention toward him, "Let's play again sometime."

Midorima paused, sparing his former teammate a glance over his shoulder before nodding, "We will and I _will_ win."

Okay, that was kind of heartwarming. Hana wouldn't admit to the admiring coo that wanted to surface, but she could still appreciate the bonding moment. It was just too bad Midorima wouldn't get to accomplish his promise.

 _Not if I have any say about it,_ Hana munched on noodle to hide her growing smirk. _Sorry, Midorima, but none of you guys are going to be winning if I can stop it._ She glanced to the left and met eyes with Kagami, his red ones narrowed in thought.

 _Well, what do ya know, looks like we're in agreement again._

xXxXxXxXx

"Kise," Hana poked at his shoulder, causing the arms wrapped around her to tighten, "Let go. My teams leaving."

"But Imamura-cchi!" Kise ignored her order, pulling her closer to his chest like a glorified rag doll, "I hardly got to talk to you! It's been so long!"

 _Ugh, stupid puppy dog face._ With a grimace, Hana looked away. Even though his pouting was grossly over exaggerated, she still felt a bit of guilt and returned her attention back to Kise, "Sorry— uhm," she looked around for help, but the only person she knew in the area was Kasamatsu and he steadily avoided her gaze, "Okay, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Kise perked up and removed his arms from around her waist. _Thank god,_ Hana breathed a sigh of relief before nodding. The golden-haired boy grinned, "I have a modeling shoot after school, but that's it."

"Uhm… do you," Hana slammed her eyes shut in a weird concoction of embarrassment and dread, "Maybe want to hang out afterwards? If it's not too late— _maybe!"_

"Yes!" _That excitement can't be natural._ Kise's smile could give the sun a run for its money and Hana had to take a step back in fear of going blind, "Where were you planning, Imamura-chan?"

She had to think about it a bit before finding a neutral answer, "The same place as last weekend?"

"The court off fourth street?" Kise tilted his head, the smile fading for a second as he seemed to think about the possibility, "That's not too far from my shoot, I could meet you there afterwards. Are we playing?"

"Playing?" Hana repeated dumbly before snapping her fingers, "Oh, basketball. Yeah, why the hell not?"

"Great!" Just as soon as she was free of the man chest, she was forcefully tugged back into it, face smushing against the ironed shirt. "I'll call you tomorrow, Imamura-cchi!"

 _Freedom!_ Hana was released and she took several big gulps of air, thankful to be free of the overpowering scent of aftershave. She didn't dare move until Kise was safely back in his seat next to Kasamatsu. When the coast was clear, she took a careful step back, watching him for any sudden movements. _I prefer less lethal hugs, honestly._

"Looking forward to it," Hana took another step back, cautiously lifting her hand in the form of a wave, "I'm going to go now. Bye, Kise."

"Bye, Imamura-cchi!"

Even Kasamatsu chipped in, "G-g-oodbye."

Well, that was a step in the right direction. _I wish he wasn't scared of me._ Hana pouted as she ducked through the restaurants entryway, _he's a pretty cool guy. Besides, he probably knows a lot of Kise's secrets…_ She hummed as she walked up behind her little group of teammates, nodding in greeting to Mitobe and Koganei. _Speaking of Kise…_

This little caring spiel sucked.

Normally, she'd have pushed Kise off the moment he'd hugged her, but _nooo._ No, now her emotions had to flutter all happily and be a little bitch. Scrubbing a hand over her face, Hana sighed. It was like the brotherly love she had with Uoya, but _worse._ She didn't want to see any of them upset, but at the same time, there was a level more to it.

She was definitely not going to examine that extra little _umph_ her emotions had gifted the former members of the Generation of Miracles. Maybe someday when she had more patience and less desire to rip her heart out of her chest, then she'd look into that extra level of emotion. Maybe she'd even put a name on it.

But that day was not today.

Because today there was a _dog._

"Dog?" Hana parroted, staring at the tiny husky puppy located in Riko's arms, "Is that a dog?"

Bringing the fluffly puppy to her chest, Riko spun around to face the manager. Her auburn eyes sparkled with an unholy type of joy and Riko grinned, "Kuroko-kun found him! Isn't he adorable, Imamura-chan?"

"Dog," Hana repeated, stepping through the mishmash of her teammates. Half a second later she was standing in front of Riko and bowing over to get a closer look. _It's… so…_ "Cute? Like… disgustingly cute."

"Imamura-chan!" Riko brought the puppy closer to her chest, shying him from Hana's view, "Don't say it like that!"

Following after Riko, Hana came back to stand in front of the dog. It's big blue eyes stared at her and Hana stared back, slowly narrowing her eyes as the dog refused to blink. She reached out and poked its little wet nose, "Hello, dog."

Those blue eyes stared up at her, surrounded by a face of downy white fluff. A layer of black fur dotted along its back and Hana rubbed a hand over its heavenly soft head. The little pooch didn't move into the action, but it didn't growl either, so Hana assumed that was acceptance. _It's so small… Nūdoru would eat it alive._

"Are we calling it dog?" Koganei spoke up in the background, "Please don't call it dog."

"We aren't calling it anything!" ever the practical leader of the group, Hyuuga stepped forward to enforce his opinion, "It'll just make it even harder to leave him!"

"We're keeping him," Riko hardly spared Hyuuga a glance before spinning on her toes, lifting the poor puppy into the air Simba style, "He's so _cutee~_ Wait," the coach held the puppy over her head for a second and squinted, "Doesn't it look like someone?"

"…" Riko placed the puppy beside Kuroko. One second passed, then another before the whole team shrieked, "Their eyes! They're just alike!"

"That's what we'll call him!" Koganei jumped forward with an outstretched finger, "Tetsuya number 2!"

 _And everyone told me noddle was a bad name._

Hana took a step back at that, blinking between Kuroko and the puppy. Both stared back at her, two sets of unmoving eyes peering into her soul. A slow sweat worked its way down her spine and Hana shook her head, "I know that's supposed to be cute somehow, but I'm a little creeped out."

The puppy turned to her at the sound of her voice, ears drooping against its head and those big turquoise eyes seeing right through her. _It's still creepy,_ Hana narrowed her eyes into slits. _No amount of cuteness will fix this—_ the puppy let out a little bark and she promptly melted into a pile of goo.

"Okay," she sniffed in false consideration, "I guess the similarity is kind of cute."

Attention went back to the puppy, with even Hyuuga kneeling down to examine its petite face. With all the focus on the tiny canine, Hana moved toward Tetsuya Number One. There was a tiny smile on Kuroko's face as he stared down at the puppy and when Hana popped up next to him, she was able to receive the remnants of it.

"So," Hana motioned toward the puppy, "Are you keeping your name sake?"

"I believe so," Kuroko's brow furrowed for a moment, "Although it may be expensive."

Hana shrugged, kneeling down beside the box the puppy was placed into, "I've got a couple toys Nūdoru won't use. I think there's an extra leash somewhere too," she reached a hand out to rub at its amazingly soft ears again, "And a bed he outgrew— it kind of stinks though, so that's up to you."

Kuroko's eyes softened minutely as he watched, "Thank you, Imamura-san."

"No problem," Hana apparently found a sweet spot behind the puppy's ear as it tilted its head for easier access, "We can have puppy play dates or something. I hate going to the dog park alone."

Her blue haired friend stilled before offering a heartfelt reply, "That would be nice."

"Sweet," Hana peeked up at him over her shoulder with a bright grin, "Can't wait. Nūdoru needs to socialize anyway— can you believe people are scared of him? No one ever lets their dog play with him and I know he gets upset, hell, _I_ get upset for him."

Without waiting for a response, Hana joined the rest of team in pampering number two. The puppy was practically basking in the attention, little tail wagging a mile a minute and the similarity to Kuroko made the whole thing even more adorable. _This much cuteness should be illegal, Riko's going to spontaneously combust._

"Huh," speaking of Riko, the coach straightened up and looked around the group, "Where's Kagami?"

It took a bit, but eventually a shaky voice responded. When the focus landed on the voice, it was only to find Kagami curled into a space much too small for his size. His normally ferocious eyes were tinted in apprehension and Hana followed the line of his sight… only for her gaze to land on the puppy.

"I'm over here," Kagami continued with a strained smile, "Sorry— but I can't really handle dogs."

 _What is this I'm hearing?_ Hana perked up and leaned around her teammates shoulders. When she caught Kagami's gaze, she raised a devious eyebrow, "Dogs?"

There still was the issue of Kagami's misbehavior during the last game, a fact that hadn't been rectified yet. Hana trailed her eyes away from Kagami to meet the gaze of an equally mischievous looking puppy. Apparently, the tiny pooch didn't approve of Kagami's behavior either. _We are going to get along fabulously little man._

"Imamura—" Kagami's eyes widened at the subtle undertone lacing her actions, "Don't even think about it."

The only thing Hana could offer was a smile.

Right before she picked up Nigō and marched toward him.

x

* * *

 _ **Reviews! (These are going to be shorter because it's three o'clock in the morning, I'm sorry)**_

 _ **Sharmi999:**_ _ **Thank you!**_

 _ **Dragfilla**_ _ **: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks!**_

 _ **AngelicHallows:**_ _ **I'm happy I caught you off guard, that's always fun! I'm also really glad everything is flowing smoothly and merging with the anime. One of my biggest worries right there! And for the shipping, dude, ship away! You could ship her with anyone and I really wouldn't mind! Thank you for another great review, I love how in depth you go and how you mention everything honestly. It really helps encourage me, so for that, thank you so so so much!**_

 _ **Jesus Amelibia:**_ _ **Thank you!**_

 _ **Procrastinatingismyforte**_ _ **: I'm so happy to hear that, thank you! That's wonderful praise!**_

 _ **Frizzle Chicken:**_ _ **Welcome back! I missed you! I'm glad to hear you still enjoy the story! It makes my day, so thank you for your wonderful reviews and commentary. You rock!**_

 _ **TheParadoxicalOxymoron:**_ _ **I accept being a baby chickling, they have no responsibilities. It'd be the life man. Anyway, I totally feel you on last chapter and I kind of feel the same with this one. I'm trying to build the romance aspect and it's proving to be difficult with all the internal conflict that needs to be solved. But thank you for leaving me a review! I appreciate the honest commentary.**_

 _ **Nicole Nighlock:**_ _ **Thank you!**_

 _ **Yueres De Leo:**_ _ **Can I freak out for a bit? Because your once piece story was one of the first I ever read and I'm actually freaking out because ahhh. Thank you for such a nice review, it means so much to me! Thank you, again and again!**_

 _ **Elys:**_ _ **I'm glad you liked it enough to read it in one day, that's some high praise! Thank you for taking the time out of your day to leave me such an awesome review, it definitely brought a smile to my face. I love hearing such wonderful stuff!**_

 _ **Saltqueen:**_ _ **No problem! And thank you for reading!**_

 _ **NotAnnie:**_ _ **Tsuchida doesn't get enough recognition, he needs some screen time! But your totally spot on. Thank you for your review!**_

 _ **CrystalVixen:**_ _ **Thank you!**_

 _ **Imbue-Numinous:**_ _ **Thank you thank you! I'm like… 97% positive that one ending will be all of them. That was the original plan for the story, I haven't laid anything down for certain, but as of now, multiple endings is probably the safest bet. THANK YOU AGAIN.**_

 _ **OneWhoReadsTooMuch:**_ _ **I feel you with the Midorima and Hana bond, those two are hard to get working properly. Gave me so much trouble this chapter haha. I'm glad you enjoyed it though!**_

 _ **Naliyu:**_ _ **No, thank you for your review! And thank you for congratulating me on my independence! It kinda sucks but it also kinda rocks! Woo!**_

 _ **Red Raspberries:**_ _ **Thank you, thank you! I'm glad you liked it, it makes me so happy! I would hug you but I can't fit through this screen!**_

 _ **Jeya Mendoza:**_ _ **Your long reviews make me so happy. I want you to know I read them multiple times and even though I'm not replying with the same amount, they are the best thing I could ever receive. I love how detailed you are! It's great! Thank you so much for sticking with me! By the way, I will reply to your message as soon as I wake up from the sleep I'm about to crash into!**_

 _ **CrystalViolet24:**_ _ **I'm glad you think it went okay, I was a bit worried to be honest! I would love to type a much longer response to match your awesome review, but I'm really sleepy! I just want to say I love your rambles and they're great and awesome and they make my day everytime I get them! I read all these awesome reviews everytime writing gets hard and the long ones like yours help pull me through!**_

 _ **NinjaPenjuinLover:**_ _ **I CAN'T WAIT EITHER. I LOVE ANGSTY GUYS, SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE. And yes, I think Hana and Takao are cute too… that's probably why I can't stop writing him heheh. Thank you!**_

 _ **Pinkdoughtnuts:**_ _ **Don't worry about Kagami too much, he's role was never really relationship, but I don't discourage anyone from shipping! Ship with anyone, I don't mind! Kise seems to be a favorite though! Thank you for your review!**_


	31. Chapter 31

**Tada! A quick update! It's been a while since I managed that. Sadly, this is mostly filler before the** **Tōō game, but we do have the arrival of angsty Aomine. Regarding the question on last chapter, because of your tremendous support I've decided not to stress the length too much and it'll probably stay around the 7k to 10k zone. (That sounds like a lot, woah.) Next chapter most likely won't come out as quickly, but it is in the process! Finally, thank you guys for everything you've done!  
**

 **Warnings : Bad language (one eff bomb, opps), thoughts of violence, and poor editing**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke_.**

* * *

F is for Friends Who Do Stuff Together

 _Half past midnight… are you serious?_

"Oh gosh, I've kept you up so long," Staring at the clock on her dresser, Hana groaned, "I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry—"

"Hey, hey," the fellow occupant of the conversation laughed into the phone, "It's okay, Imamura-chan. It was great hearing from you again."

Pouting for dramatic effect, Hana sighed into the receiver, "But it's so late… I didn't mean to keep you up like this. I just couldn't stop talking."

There was another chuckle from the other side of the call, "No! It's been great. It's really hard to find a girl that's interested in basketball."

"Really?" She blinked in mock surprise, but her focus remained on the pile of notes complied on top of her mattress, "I'm still sorry though… I don't even know how we started talking about the finals. I'm nervous enough already."

"Don't worry about it," there was a stirring in the background before his voice came back, "I'm sure your team will do great, but you're right— it's pretty late and I've got to get to sleep. Think we can talk tomorrow?"

 _Probably not happening._ Flipping the top page of her notes over, Hana hummed, "I won't be home until later, but I'll text you okay?"

"Sounds great, Imamura-chan. Talk to you soon!"

"Can't wait," flopping her hand to the side, she reached for her phone, "Bye, Tanimura-kun!"

Bringing her phone to her face, Hana disconnected the line, but instead of the awaited dial tone, the phone was filled with silence and she pressed the next button. As soon as the previously muted third participant returned, the sound of music blared through the connection. _Holy hell! That's loud!_

"Hey!" jerking her phone back, Hana growled into the receiver, "Turn it down!"

"…" the music abruptly quit, "Was that the last one?"

Turning the speaker on, Hana threw the phone back beside her, "Yeah, unless Iseri finds something else out about Meisei and Senshinkan."

" _Finally._ Who the hell was that?"

"Tanimura Yusuke," pulling the rest of her notes toward her, Hana flipped through the information she'd gathered, "Captain of Shinkyo Academy. He's pretty popular, a little too flirty though, but whatever."

"Ugh, you're awful," the previously annoyed voice morphed into disgust. After the sound of another grunt, Kitano continued with his complaining, "Why am I even here? I thought you used Uoya for this."

"I do," Hana agreed, staring at the page of notes she'd accumulated for Tōō, "But he isn't in our district, so he doesn't have access to the type of information I need."

"And I do?"

 _Such an attitude._ Though she could agree with him. It'd been a draining day and staying up until the ass crack of dawn wasn't helping matters. But she had a duty to do, and that duty involved gathering information. _Which is severely needed._ Other than the old notes on her former friends, Tōō was basically an unknown.

Drawing a quick chart of the players' names she knew, Hana rolled her eyes, " _Yes._ Why do you think I've been telling you to talk to the other teams? Connections, man."

"How'd I get dragged into this?" despite his grumble, Kitano rehearsed everything he knew, "I don't know much more than Tanimura. All I've heard is Aomine is a beast, which is already obvious enough, and that the Tōō captain is as annoyingly manipulative as you."

"Captain?" Hana blinked before dragging her eyes down to the highlighted area, "That's Imayoshi Soichi, right?"

A grunt, "That's the one."

"Awesome. So, are we talking Akashi manipulative," writing the adjective next to Imayoshi's name, she rolled on her back to reach the phone, "Or Hanamiya?"

"I don't know, Hana," Kitano tried to snark, but his attitude was ruined by the yawn that echoed through the receiver, "Which one do you think you relate to?"

"…" she brought the phone to her ear in thought, "I want to say Akashi, but judging by your god-awful attitude, it'd be Hanamiya. Which I resent. _Greatly._ "

"Well, if the shoe fits."

"No need for the bitchiness."

"Whatever," Kitano yawned again, forcing Hana to do the same when he replied, "Are we done yet? You may not sleep, but I do."

"Hey! I had a busy day too, asshole," she threw her unoccupied arm over her eyes, "We played against Midorima. Do you understand what that means? _I talked to Midorima."_

"Great. You want a trophy or something?"

"Honestly? It'd be pretty nice."

"Shut up. So, you finally realize what we've been telling you?"

"… I'm declining to answer that question."

"Ha," her friend let out a sleepy laugh and Hana found it hard to hold onto her embarrassment, "Damn, you're worse than me and Iseri."

 _Oh, ho ho?_ Perking up, Hana removed her arm from her eyes and smirked up at the ceiling, "Oh? Is this development I'm hearing? Took you long enough—"

"I hate you and I'm hanging up," Kitano interrupted her quite forcefully, "Go the hell to sleep."

"Wait! We need to talk about our feelings—" the phone clicked off and Hana let out a defeated groan. "Dammit. Thanks a lot, Kitano."

With a putout sigh, Hana pushed herself into a sitting position and stretched her sore arms above her head. Back thoroughly popped, green eyes scanned the mess she'd made of her bed, belatedly noticing she'd yet to put them into any type of order. _Freaking great…_ Next, her eyes moved up to the top of her bed only to deadpan at the giant lump of dog spread out across her pillows.

"Really?" Hana crawled through the mess of notes, mentally promising to sort them tomorrow, before she pushed Nūdoru's heavy ass to his side of the bed, "You damn bed hog."

Lifting his head drowsily, Nūdoru blinked at her before collapsing back into sleep.

"See," Hana lifted the covers and scooted under, not bothering to remove her clothes from the day. When she was comfortable enough to attempt sleep, she twisted her body toward Nūdoru's, "You'd let me talk about my feelings, right? No judgement?"

Instead of responding, Nūdoru snored directly into her face.

… _I'm taking that as a yes._

x

* * *

x

It was the end of the school day and Hana didn't quite know how she got here.

Well, she did know _this_ wasn't included in her job description.

The reflection that greeted her was something out of a prepubescent nightmare. The flashy neon yellow swimsuit covered all the delicate lady bits, but that did nothing to settle her nerves. No one thought to warn her about the day's training schedule, much less the swimming aspect. However, despite Hana's _unfortunate_ lack of swim wear, Riko had a spare hidden in the recesses of her duffle bag.

To be fair, it wasn't that bad. The top half of the swimsuit wasn't terrible. It covered up all her chest and hid any traces of her minuscule cleavage and okay, she could admit the crop top aspect was cute. That wasn't the problem. No, the minuscule piece of fabric covering her ass was the biggest issue of the day.

 _Is it supposed to ride up that high? God, this shit is uncomfortable._

"I'm not doing this," Judging by the glower, Hana's reflection seemed to agree with her. "There is nothing on this earth that will make me do this."

So, she didn't. Spinning on her heel, Hana's gaze addressed the empty dressing room and scanned over the boy's outfits. A part of her shivered in disgust, _ew ew ew,_ but her dignity was at stake here. There were at least ten boys outside those doors and Hana would be _thrice damned_ if she let them see her in this monstrosity.

Which is why when her gaze landed on the tee-shirt, thankfully folded up neatly in Kagami's bag, she didn't think twice.

Pulling at the hem, Hana readdressed her image. The white shirt ended near her knees and the collar hung off her left shoulder, but the overall effect wasn't half bad in her opinion. So what if the shirt dwarfed her? She was covered and that was all that mattered. Well, Kagami's opinion on her theft mattered a bit too, but that was easily dealt with.

Or _not_ so easily dealt with.

"Would you stop stealing my clothes?!" Kagami imploded as soon as Hana stepped out of the dressing room, "That's the second shirt!"

"…" everyone's head rotated in her direction and Hana rubbed at the back of her neck sheepishly, "What makes you think it's your shirt?"

Even with his aching legs, Kagami was off the bleacher and stomping toward her. His hand fisted the back of the shirt before pulling the hem up, "My names on it—"

"What? No!" Hana ducked out of his reach, "That doesn't say Kagami! That's…" she pulled the tag around and pretended to squint at it, "Obviously, it says Imamura. Can't you read?"

"It doesn't fit you at all," Kagami deadpanned, "How the hell can it be yours?"

She stumbled for a minute, "… It's a dress?"

"It's _mine."_

"Oh, I didn't know you cross dress? I bet it looks great on you, Kagami!"

" _Ugh_ , Imamura!"

Back at the pool, the rest of the team watched on in various states of impassiveness. They'd long since begun to expect these arguments and could safely assume for at least five to happen during practice. So far this was number one.

"Anyone else noticing they're acting better today?" Hyuuga commented, floating sluggishly on top of the water, "Wonder why."

"Maybe they realized they're two balls in a basket," at the blank stares, Izuki elaborated, "Two peas in a pod? But with basketball—"

"I get it," Hyuuga groaned before splashing at Izuki halfheartedly, "and it was terrible _."_

From his place beside the pool wall, Mitobe started making hand motions. Catching the movement, Koganei turned toward his friend before elaborating, "Mitobe says they remind him of his siblings," he paused when Mitobe's eyebrows rose expectantly, "But more… explosive."

The sound of a bark brought attention back onto the arguing freshmen. At some point, Nigou left his position beside Riko to sit by Hana's feet and the little dog stared unblinkingly up at Kagami. Meanwhile, Kagami's hand remained outstretched from where he reached for Hana, the dog's surprise presence causing him freeze.

"… Imamura sure made an impression on number two, Kuroko," Hyuuga flipped over to see the underclassman, only to stagger at the sight of Kuroko floating lifelessly, "— Hey! Don't lay in the water like that!"

While the rest of the team successfully resurrected Kuroko, Hana and Nigou teamed up to exile Kagami back to the bench.

Their dual attack was super effective.

Five minutes later, Hana cradled her new best friend and caressed the top of Nigou's fluffy head. When her fingers reached a soft spot, the tiny pup tilted its head toward her only to unexpectedly perk up. Hana's fingers paused when the puppy stiffened, staring expectantly at the door. _He's all puffed up._

"What is it?" she blinked at Nigou when he stood up in her lap, "You do understand you're too small to be a guard dog—"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the doors to the pool were pushed open and Hana groaned. _Why?_ The boys hadn't noticed the intruder yet, so Hana took the time to give them her best stare. Momoi wasn't affected by Hana's glower and her dainty steps only seemed to bounce higher.

As her friend got closer, Hana deadpanned, "What a surprise visit, Momoi. I'm sure it wasn't planned at all."

At the sound of her voice, the rest of her team made noises of shock, their eyes landing on the guest before promptly collapsing into a mindless pile of hormonal goo. _I'm glad to see you all have such ironclad wills._

"Hi, Ima-chan!" Momoi paid no mind to the rest of the team, instead she bent down to grace Hana and Nigou with a beaming smile and a face full of breast, "What a cute dog!"

"No," Hana cuddled Nigou to her chest before pointing an accusing finger at Momoi, "You don't get to come in here all innocent and seduce our mascot. That's outright wrong—" Nigou blinked in apparent agreement.

In the meantime, the rest of Hana's teammates managed to escape the surprise they fell into. Other than a few blushing cheeks, most of the boys were back to their normal attitude. _Thank god, I don't want to deal with that today._ They may be enemies right now, but Momoi was still her friend and Hana was still obligated to defend her from perverts. Even if they were her teammates.

"…" Riko recovered first and crossed her arms over her chest, "So, you're Momoi-san? What are you doing here?"

Momoi brought a finger to her chin in a deceptive form of innocence, "Well, I wanted to come see my boyfriend, Tetsu-kun. I couldn't wait for the championship league, so I just came here instead."

"…" Riko paused, "Tetsu-kun?"

"Yup!" Momoi tilted her head with a peaceful smile, "Kuroko Tetsuya!"

The team exploded, " _What?! Kuroko has a girlfriend?!"_

Hana dragged a hand down her face while Kuroko explained. _Way to make an entrance, Momoi._ When Momoi tugged Kuroko into a bone crushing hug, Hana pinched the bridge of her nose. Her poor teammates didn't know how to handle this new development and their heads swiveled between the busty beauty and the apathetic Kuroko in horror.

"She was the manager for the Generation of Miracles, huh?" Kagami questioned before those glaringly bright red eyes landed on Hana, "What did that make you?"

"Uhm?" Hana blinked, "I guess—" she struggled with appropriately defining their relationship, "I was just their friend."

In the background, there was a splash. When the two teens turned to look, they were greeted by the sight of their drowning captain, furious coach, and shocked Momoi. Kagami and Hana simultaneously exchanged dry looks. The bonding moment lasted until Nigou decided to join in with a bark and Kagami lurched away from the both of them.

After reciting Hyuuga's name, Momoi's explanation brought Hana's attention back to her, "I know all of you guys."

"See," Hana muttered, motioning toward Momoi in exasperation, "I knew you had an ulterior motive."

The fellow manager only gave Hana a smile before continuing on with her spiel, "Hyuuga-san, club captain and clutch shooter. Izuki-san and his eagle eye. Mitobe-san with his hook shot and the new power forward, Kagami-kun. Tsuchida-san and Koganei-san…" Momoi's smile sharpened as she returned her attention to Riko, "Finally, the barely-B coach, Riko-san."

"Oi," Hana coughed, warily watching as Riko exploded into a ball of snarling, "Don't bring boobs into this," she motioned to her own chest, "That's a low blow."

Turning back toward Hana, Momoi tilted her head in consideration, "Oh, I almost forgot about you, Ima-chan."

 _Ugh, freaking fabulous. I hate competitions._ Because that's what this was. Judging by her little montage, Momoi obviously hadn't come with the intention of gathering information. This was a warning or maybe some sort of rival teasing. _Guess I might as well lay out the cards._

Hana raised a sardonic eyebrow, "My, how rude of you."

"Well, you are kind of important," Momoi hummed as she brought her hands behind her back, "You did want to start an information ring, didn't you?"

"I did," Hana admitted before patting Nigou on the top of his head. At the tension growing between the two of them, she smirked, "It's been quite helpful."

Momoi paused, "Oh?"

 _Is that a touch of worry I hear?_ Gently pushing Nigou out of her lap, Hana crawled to her feet to meet Momoi head on, "Well, your team doesn't have the best reputation among it's opponents. Imayoshi-san and Aomine being fan favorites."

Momoi's doe eyes widened in slight surprise before she tamped down on the emotion, "I didn't know you made so many friends with other schools, Ima-chan."

Lifting a shoulder, Hana offered her friend a smile, "I had to one up you somehow."

"I see," the rivalry on Momoi's face fell off, only to be replaced by an ear-splitting grin. One second Hana was breathing freely, the next she had a face full of bosom, "I'm so proud of you~ I've missed you so much!"

"Oh," Hana coughed as the air was forced out of her lungs, "Now you notice me? Glad to see where I fall on your radar!"

"I'd never forget you!"

 _And cue the spinning._

Momoi was a few inches taller than her, so Hana wasn't that surprised by how easily she was manhandled. Though she was a bit surprised at the noises of shock coming from her teammates. _They've met Kise, you'd think they'd be used to this._ When Momoi stopped spinning her, Hana blinked the dizziness out of her eyes before looking at the blushes staining her teammates faces. _Oh, that's why._

"Jesus Christ, Momoi," Hana laid a hand on the other manager's shoulder to steady herself, "Next time warn a girl, will you?"

Momoi grinned, but her reply was interrupted by Kuroko. Standing somberly a few feet behind them, the boy questioned, "Momoi-san? Do you really go to Aomine-kun's school?"

"Yeah," her excitement subdued, Momoi stepped away from Hana before crouching down next to Nigou, "I wanted to go to school with you and Ima-chan, but who knows what Aomine-kun will do without me?"

By that point, Hana wasn't listening anymore. Her thoughts stopped in surprise and startled green eyes anxiously scanned the pool yard. _How'd I forget him?!_ She'd been so thrown off by Momoi's arrival, she hadn't even realized that Aomine wasn't with her. That in itself was odd enough.

"…" after scanning the area three times, Hana took a deep breath to settle her nerves. _He's probably napping somewhere._ Besides _,_ if worse comes to worse, she could handle him, "I bet he'd get arrested for public indecency or something."

Momoi blinked up from her introspection of Nigou, lips twitching when her eyes met Hana's own, "Probably."

There was too much hidden in Momoi's face for Hana's comfort. There was something distraught, something longing, something… heartbroken. Yet, the thing that bothered Hana the most, was the layer of understanding that flashed through Momoi's eyes. Hana looked away first. _I'm really not up for another flashback moment._

Don't get her wrong. She loved Momoi and would do anything to help her, but well, Hana was quickly realizing she was pretty much shit at this comforting thing.

One must also add in the fact Kuroko was in the vicinity. This would make Momoi's emotional responses even more complex and then Kuroko would jump in with his soul searching and sad puppy faces. Put in Hana's own conflicting feelings and the conversation would turn into a depression themed threesome.

Seriously, what part of that sounded like fun?

"I'm going for a walk," Kagami, _blessed be Kagami,_ broke the growing pressure. Standing up from his perch, he stretched his arms high above his head, "My legs are locking up."

Riko, who was still fuming from the earlier joke about her breasts, looked at the ace suspiciously. The coach's hazel eyes scanned him from top to bottom before releasing a reluctant nod, "Just don't play any basketball— I mean it, Kagami-kun!"

 _Escape!_ Hana jumped into the conversation before Kagami could formulate a reply, "No problem, coach! I'll keep an eye on him."

Well, Hana certainly didn't appreciate the disbelieving looks sent her way. _I thought they knew better by now! I am a mature human being!_ The only ones who didn't look flabbergasted were Kuroko and, strangely, Kagami. The ace eyed her for a long moment before giving an accepting nod. _Well… that was easy._

"We'll be back soon," heading to the door, Kagami raised his hand in goodbye, "I promise I won't play."

"Yeah," unnaturally enthusiastic, Hana jumped after Kagami's retreating back, "I don't know how long I can stand his ass anyway, we probably won't be more than fifteen minutes."

Pushing the door open, Kagami groaned, "Shut up or go back, Imamura."

"Bye everyone! Opps, my bad. Shutting up now," Hana swore, skittering through the door behind him, "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Kagami's sigh was the last thing the team heard, "… if only."

Back by the pool, Momoi blinked. Her pink eyes traced the resigned faces of the Seirin team before landing on Kuroko. That was where her confusion turned into full out bewilderment; the small tilt of Kuroko's lips something she hadn't seen since their former Teiko days. There was a pang of longing, but Momoi forced a joyful expression onto her face.

"Ima-chan seems to get along well with Kagami-kun," voicing her interest, Momoi continued with her questioning, "I hadn't expected that from our phone calls, normally she's complaining about him."

Blinking, Kuroko turned away from the door, "They do have a strange relationship. It must look odd to you."

"It does," Momoi tilted her head before a charming smile spread across her face, "But Ima-chan's always been pretty friendly."

"Ha," Hyuuga grumbled as he got out of the pool. Giving Riko a glare in return for his soaking wet state, he turned his attention back to their guest, "That's one way to put it, I guess."

Momoi didn't have a chance to agree or disagree. Instead, the door to the pool slammed open and a flash darted into the dressing room. The person moved quick enough that most of the team didn't have a chance to identify them, but the black hair gave them all a pretty good hint. It was only solidified when they heard a shout from the hallway.

"Don't grab mine!" Kagami's voice held a tinge of resignation, like he already knew the outcome of the situation, "Who the hell forgets pants?"

The dressing room door opened again with a sheepish looking Hana running out. She waved her one good hand goodbye, while the other held a pair of grey sweatpants. No one dared breathe as the door shut behind her. One moment passed, and then another.

" _Imamura!"_ Kagami's yell resonated through the newly shut doors, " _Those are mine!"_

Momoi gaped.

"Don't worry, Momoi-san," Kuroko placed a hand on her shoulder before walking toward the rest of his teammates, "This is normal."

xXxXxXxXx

The vending machine was mocking her.

Actually, scratch that. The whole world was mocking her. Glaring at the money in her hand, Hana tried to insert it into the machine again. She probably looked a sight; swamped in oversized men's clothing and cursing an inanimate object. Behind her, Kagami let out a longsuffering sigh, already impatient with her presence. _Screw him._

"Just let me do it," Kagami insisted for the fifth time, "You're taking forever."

Scowling when the money was rejected _again_ , Hana huffed, "No. This is my battle."

"You're such a brat."

" _You're such a brat,"_ Hana mocked before flipping the money upside down and trying again. The machine chirped for a second, but it wasn't rejected, "See, I win! Perseverance pays off!"

"…" Kagami stared at her, right eyebrow twitching warningly, "It's a machine, Imamura."

"Not all battles are won at first chance," she grinned, pressing the button for her iced coffee. When it rolled down, Hana retrieved it and flashed it in front of Kagami's face, "It may have taken longer, but I still got my shit."

"Where'd you read that?" scoffing, Kagami crossed his arms over his chest, "One of Midorima's shitty horoscopes?"

"… how'd you know?"

Kagami paused, "Are you serious?"

"No, of course not," Hana waved the accusation off, but she didn't make eye contact with her fellow teammate. Instead, she brought her drink up to her mouth and hastily walked away, "I don't even read that stuff."

"You're lying," there was an edge of humor in Kagami's tone as he cut in front of her, "I didn't take you for the superstitious type."

Taking another sip, Hana raised a dubious eyebrow, "What do you take me for?"

His smirk wasn't hidden well at all, "A bitch."

"You know, I'm just going to assume that was said out of love," Hana grumbled before kicking a pebble at his back, "Dick."

She'd swear she heard a snort, but when Hana glanced up at him, Kagami's face reverted back to the determined mask he'd been wearing since facing Midorima. _One track mind_. Sure, Kagami wasn't the best conversationalist, but he sure beat standing around and lamenting about the past. The weather outside was really freaking nice, so that was an extra plus.

Turning the corner, the duo continued down the sidewalk. The friendly silence lasted until Kagami suddenly stopped and turned toward her, "Why'd you come with me? What are you thinking?"

"What? Maybe I just wanted to hang out—" Kagami scowled and Hana backtracked, "Calm down with the macho attitude. Look, honestly, it was a split decision. You gave me an out from an awkward conversation and in return, I'm keeping an eye on you."

Satisfied with her perceived honesty, Kagami began to walk again, "Keeping an eye on me?"

Well, it was a bit more mutually beneficial than that. It was a well-known, _very well known,_ fact that Aomine was an asshole. _But_ he was also a participant in the Inter-High finals and part of her wonderful emotional weakness for rainbow haired jerks. So, even though she hoped she wouldn't have to today, Hana knew she'd have to see him sometime.

Which meant she was still keeping an eye on Kagami. It was just… well, in case Aomine was _actually_ here, she was hoping Kagami's rashness would cancel out her emotional outbursts and that her presence would even out Kagami's desire for fighting things obviously too strong for him. It was a pretty symbiotic exchange in her opinion.

"Okay, time for a fun fact," she wasn't going to give him the completely true reason. Instead, she skipped a few feet ahead until her steps matched pace with his own, "Momoi equals Aomine, but I didn't see said Aomine. That means he's lurking around somewhere."

"Another one of those Miracles? That's the one Midorima warned me about," the redhead perked up, eyes dilating into clearly unhealthy pinpoints.

 _He needs to work on keeping his fantasies in the bedroom._ Hana understood determination, but this was crazy. It was like taking a rabid dog for a walk and the Generation of Miracles were the poor squirrels at the head of its rampage. _Oh man, they'd have my ass for that description._

"Yup, you're catching the pattern," after a while, the sidewalk they were walking down started to turn into a quaint little recreation area. Eyeing the playground off to the side, Hana snorted, "They pop up everywhere."

Looking off to the side, Kagami grunted, "I've noticed."

"Yeah, and that's not even their final form. Anyway, if we see Aomine, we turn around. That's just too much asshole for me to handle today—" she blinked. _Where the hell did he go?_ Standing on her toes, Hana peered around the recreation area. When she spotted Kagami's escape, she cupped her mouth and yelled, "Hey! Don't just walk away!"

"I'll be back," like the jerk he was, Kagami didn't turn around, "Don't wait up!"

 _Don't wait up?!_ Hana bristled, "You're breaking the buddy system!"

For a bit, she entertained the idea of listening to his order. It did sound mighty convincing. The air was the perfect mixture of pleasant heat and low humidity. Maybe she could even take a little nap? Peeking over her shoulder, Hana scanned the playground, eyes lingering wistfully on the swing set. One foot moved forward. _But… Aomine might be out here…_

"Dammit," she turned back around to look after Kagami's path and squinted, "Whatever, he can handle himself."

When she moved toward the playground, Hana paused. The swing set had lost its appeal.

 _What if Aomine does show up? What if Kagami gets hurt?_

"Stupid battle hungry idiot," feet digging into the sidewalk, Hana flung her hands into the air before marching after Kagami. _He couldn't have just listened for once?!_ The more she thought, the more threats began to surface in her imagination, "As soon as I find you, I'm sicking Nigou on your ass!"

 _Okay, if I was Kagami where would I go?_ Hana nearly rolled her eyes out of her head at her own stupidity. _Duh, basketball._ Now where would that be? Coming to an intersection of the sidewalk, she looked to the left and then to the right. _Tennis courts and restrooms. Where's the basketball court?_

Rubbing a hand down her face, Hana readdressed the area. She couldn't see past the restrooms, but the area beyond the tennis courts just looked like more of the same thing. _Maybe he went back to practice?_ That was doubtful. Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Since the tennis court area seemed to be for naught, Hana took a deep gulp of her drink and moved toward the restrooms.

"This was my own damn fault," glaring at the concrete outhouse in front of her, Hana sighed, "Should have known better than to mention Aomine."

Marching down the sidewalk, she squeezed into the walkway between the bathroom's wall and the row of trimmed bushes on the other side. It was a quick little walk; only about fifteen feet front to back. That was why, when her arms broke out into goosebumps, Hana was admittedly quite nervous. There shouldn't be anything threatening about her position expect maybe an overgrown rabbit hiding in the foliage.

Ready to shut her anxiety the hell up, Hana rushed out of the small space.

And, of course, there was nothing there.

 _See? I'm just being paranoid._ That thought didn't stop her from checking over her shoulder anyway. _That shadow looks awfully familiar— No! I'm overthinking this. Aomine wouldn't bother_. Determined to ignore the nagging suspicion, Hana scanned the area again before her eyes finally landed on a basketball hoop several yards away. _Now where's Kagami_?

Strangely, the goosebumps on her arm remained even when she found him five minutes later.

"You know," Hana commented from her position against the metal fencing, watching Kagami fiddle with his newly acquired basketball, "Riko's going to murder you for playing and I'm going to cherish it."

"Are you still complaining?" Kagami dribbled the ball twice before shooting it into the net, "I told you I'd be back."

 _Don't care, you still broke the buddy system._ She couldn't stop the childish expression that overtook her face, "Yeah, right after I said, hey! There's a guy that might be out here and I don't think this is a good idea!"

"You didn't say that."

"It was implied!" _This guy!_ Hana debated throwing her drink at him, but held the urge in by bringing it toward her mouth instead, "You've got to read in between the lines—"

He stopped in front of her after retrieving the ball from its rebound. As usual, his expression was pure exasperation, "I didn't ask you to follow me."

"Didn't have to," crossing her arms over her chest, Hana stubbornly refused to meet his gaze, "Unfortunately, you're our best player, so someone's got to look out for your stupid ass."

"…" Kagami looked taken aback for a second before her words registered, "What do you mean unfortunately?!"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"And what is that?!"

"… you know, unfortunate? I'm pretty sure it's in the dictionary."

Kagami's resulting foot stomp was mighty impressive. Kind of like a baby elephant if Hana was to be honest. Lips tweaking into a tiny smirk, she watched the ill-tempered ace march back to the shooting line. His anger would be a lot more satisfying if her paranoia would chill the hell out.

 _Seriously,_ she ran a hand through the length of her ponytail, _this is annoying._

"Uhm," Hana's inner commentary broke when Kagami shot the ball again. It went full right side, not even hitting the rim of the hoop before falling to the ground. Removing her gaze from the fugitive ball rolling past her, Hana quirked an eyebrow, "You know, I bet this is why Riko said not to play—"

He grimaced, shaking out his ankle, "Shut up, Imamura."

"I'm just saying," she raised her hands pacifyingly, "That sucked."

Hana didn't hear whatever Kagami no doubt shot back at her. Instead, her attention was drawn to the creaking of the fence's gate. _Well… I found out where that paranoia's coming from._ Her breathe stalled in surprise, focus landing on the towering figure making his way onto the court. Aomine didn't look at her, simply choosing to stop the basketball with his oversized foot.

He looked… _different_. Everything about him screamed feral and untamable. There was a flash of fear in her gut, but Hana forced the emotions into the pit it belonged in. In its place a bone deep heartache surfaced and she repeated the process with one significant thought. _This doesn't feel like Aomine. This isn't the person I care about._

In the meantime, Aomine bent down to retrieve the ball with the primal grace of a predator. His cobalt eyes grazed over her for a split second before he rose to his full height. Aomine started to dribble with one smooth motion and Hana broke out of her spell while Kagami spun to meet Aomine head on. Red eyes met blue and the earlier heat of the air chilled.

"She's right," the slow drawl of Aomine's words dominated in the budding silence, "You're Kagami Taiga?"

There wasn't any need for Kagami to answer. Aomine's words held no room for argument and his stance radiated confidence. Judging from Kagami's stiffening posture, he was aware of the fact just as much as Hana. If only they'd agreed earlier, but as formerly noticed, the two teammates sure choose the worst times to sync up with one another.

 _Well, time to fix that._ Keeping a wary eye on Aomine, Hana scuttled to her feet, "Come on, Kagami. Let's go."

Kagami's crimson eyes moved from Aomine's position onto her own. When she had his attention, Hana raised a prompting eyebrow. _Hurry the hell up!_ Instead of listening to her telepathic message, Kagami turned his attention back onto Aomine, sizing him up with a measured scan. _And this is why we can't have nice things._

"Heh," Aomine leaned idly against the hoops pole, one hand shoved deep into his pockets, "You're going to listen to her? Come on, play me. I'll test you"

Narrowing her eyes, Hana turned her attention onto the former miracle only to pause. _How the hell did he get taller? Whatever, not the time._ Shaking the thought off, she took a restrained step forward, "Hey, don't order him around."

"I'm guessing you're Aomine," Kagami's followed her lead, face remaining deceptively blank as he looked between Hana and Aomine, "I don't like being told to play someone by a guy who hasn't even properly introduced himself."

Stepping away from his resting place, Aomine cut into Kagami's statement with a condescending sigh, "Yeah, the name's Aomine Daiki and I'm not asking you to play, if I tell you to play, you will."

"He will _not,"_ Hana wasn't going to settle for this. Screw her beating heart, she was not going to allow Aomine to pressure Kagami into something. _Especially with that smug ass attitude!_ Moving away from the fence, she came to stand by Kagami's side, "You can't force him to do anything, Aomine."

"What does it matter to you, Imamura?" the full power of Aomine's stare wasn't something to belittle. It'd… it had been a while since she'd been on the receiving end of that challenging gaze and Aomine knew it. A tight smile cut between his cheekbones, "I'm not asking you either."

"Well," gathering all the bravery she had in her tiny body, Hana straightened her spine, "Too bad. You may get off on ruining people, but you're not treating one of my friends like this. Not without a damn good fight."

She felt Kagami stiffen and out of her peripheral, she glimpsed him gawking down at her. _Not the best time to look surprised, Kagami._ Choosing not to break contact with Aomine, Hana nudged Kagami in the side with her shoulder to and tried to project her support. _If we run now, he can't catch us._ Judging from the lack of escape, he didn't seem to get the hint.

Meanwhile, across from their combined front, Aomine's eyes slanted as he looked between them before something dangerous crawled over his features.

"Just give up," Aomine began to prowl toward them. He was only a few feet away when he locked those treacherous eyes on Kagami, "It's not like I'm expecting anything out of this. I'm not looking for a something that doesn't exist, a player stronger than myself. I'm just trying to relieve my boredom."

The words seemed to strike Kagami and his head tilted downward, hiding his expression.

 _Just trying to relieve your boredom… I can do that._ Hana laughed, gaining Aomine's focus in the hope she'd distract him from her teammate, "You know, I thought you'd lose the crappy attitude when your balls dropped."

 _Well, that certainly caught his attention._ For the first time since he'd got there, Aomine took the time to truly look her over. His eyes scanned her ruffled appearance impassively before crawling up and landing on her equally derisive face. A single blue eyebrow rose in interest.

"You haven't changed, Imamura," the grin that split Aomine's lips flashed ominously in the midafternoon sun, "You still don't know how to mind your own business." _Is that supposed to be an insult?_

"So? My team is my business," Hana took a strong step forward, shortening the gap between the two of them, "My friends are my business, which means _Kagami_ is my business, and you're not fucking with him."

The emotion that flashed across Aomine's face was undoubtedly lethal. His grin morphed into an expression of emptiness and Aomine lowered his head to address her directly, "Damn, you're still annoying."

 _Don't do it._ Jagged nails dug into her palms as Hana forced herself to stay still. _Do not punch the predator._

A sweaty palm landed on her shoulder, it's heat seeping through the thin layer of Kagami's shirt. Shoulders shaking in anger, Hana snapped her head back only to find Kagami standing beside her, his expression still veiled in layers of obscurity. Any retort she had for Aomine's insult completely dried up.

Tightening his grip on her in a silent form of acknowledgement, Kagami let out a sour chuckle, "From Kise to Midorima, the Generation of Miracles is full of guys who piss me off. But you… you're exceptional even among them," removing his hand, Kagami swiftly lifted his head, "I'll crush you."

 _Woah._ Kagami's whole body seemed to glow with the strength of his determination. Combined with his normal intimidating looks, the effect made Hana momentarily stumble. _You can never do anything simply can you, Kagami?_

"Kagami," Hana swallowed to ease her surprise before looking him dead in the eye, "You don't have to."

"I do," stepping back, Kagami moved his body into position. When he was safely standing a few feet away from Aomine, he looked back at her with a recurrence of his demonic smirk, "A guy like that needs to be taken down."

"I don't think you'll win," Hana didn't mince her words. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before blowing it out of her nose, "But you better freaking try."

"Careful, Imamura," Kagami let out a gruff snort, dropping his head, "You sound like you care."

"Wouldn't want that, huh?" Taking a delicate step back, Hana made sure to avoid the still lurking Aomine as she replied, "Don't worry, you're still a dick. That'll never change."

Feeling a sense of unease crawl up her spine, Hana stopped walking to look to the left. Aomine's earlier languid arrogance was gone and the sinews of his muscles were laced in preparation. Two tan hands palmed the basketball between them before Aomine trailed his stare from the floor and up to the space between Kagami and Hana.

"Are you two done?" Aomine idly merged toward Kagami, dribbling the ball the whole way, "Shut up and let's get this started."

Hana flicked him the finger, but otherwise didn't respond to Aomine's taunting. The situation was in Kagami's hands now and she wasn't going to steal it. Eventually, she made her way back to her earlier position leaning against the fence. As she watched the two boys stare each other down, her stomach gave a sickening lurch. _This won't be pretty..._

She was right.

The match wasn't anything other than devastating, but it was also morbidly informative.

The game started off loud, both boys moving at speeds unattainable to the average human. But that was where the equality ended. Kagami was no match for Aomine, nothing he did effected the former miracle. The entirety of the game was a one-sided massacre and Kagami only possessed the ball long enough for Aomine to steal it again.

Over and over the pattern repeated.

Over and over Hana recorded the same moments, her phone held tightly between two shaking hands.

Finally, it ended with Kagami worn out and shaking. His body was saturated in sweat and every breath he took rattled him with the expense of energy. Like an avenging angel, Aomine stood tall and unaffected above him, but instead of a halo, all Hana could see were horns.

Standing only a few feet ahead of Aomine, Kagami cursed as he pushed his body to the final limit, "Bastard…"

Aomine dribbled the ball halfheartedly, his face utterly indifferent as he watched Kagami flounder, "Tetsu was wrong about you. He's a shadow, becoming stronger or weaker depending on the strength of the light," with his final move, Aomine whizzed past Kagami and completed an easy layup at the hoop, "And your light is too dim."

The ball bounced to the floor and Kagami took a knee as his legs failed him, all the effort from yesterday's game and Aomine's assault overtaking his strained muscles. The sight made Hana stiffen with the dredges of awareness. _This outcome is too damn familiar._

"…" with a sigh, Aomine caught the rebound from his pass. His bored gaze speared through Kagami before returning to land on Hana, "What a waste of time."

Clicking her phone off, Hana slid it into the pocket of her sweatpants. _Everything's always a waste of time._ _It's third year all over again._ Stepping away from the metal fencing, she brushed passed Aomine without a second glance, "Get out."

Aomine scoffed, "Whatever," with a laidback throw, he rolled the basketball to the corner of the court, "You're just as hopeless as he is—"

"Get out! _Get the hell out!"_ Her shoulders shook at the shriek and Hana couldn't stop the furious flush that overtook her features, "I don't want to hear it! You think you can talk?!" the mocking laugh that crawled out of her chest startled even herself, "You can't! Whatever light you had is gone, Aomine!"

The world seemed to still.

Taking a deep breath, Hana forced her fury down along with the budding guilt. _Damn emotions._ Arguing with Aomine right now would just be adding fuel to the flames and that was something she couldn't handle. Hana closed her eyes with a sigh, "I can't do this with you right now— Just get out."

There was an accompanying breath of air before she heard Aomine's clothes rustle as he left. Pausing at the exit, he threw one last comeback out, "Don't get involved in something you can't handle, Imamura."

The gate slammed shut behind him.

 _Holy hell,_ the world continued to exist in a permanent state of pause, _that was some heavy shit._ She hadn't expected it to go like that, but that was probably due to naivety on her part. After a moment recollecting herself, Hana shook her limbs, trying to regain feeling in her extremities. When she was finally back to a slightly more stable state, she turned toward Kagami.

He was still kneeling on the ground, but both his eyebrows were peaked from Hana's emotional outburst. _And I'd been trying to prevent exactly that!_ Kagami's confusion only grew as Hana took a few wobbly steps toward him until she stopped inches away from him. _Can his eyebrows go any higher?_

"… Well," Hana rubbed a trembling hand across her face, "That was fun."

It took a moment before Kagami managed a scoff, "Yeah, fun."

A laugh crawled out of her throat, but it was too airy to be genuine, "How about next time we listen to my awesome advice and avoid the asshole, okay?"

"Sounds good," Kagami grunted as he shifted into a more comfortable position, trying to ease the strain on his leg, "I… I didn't think it'd be like that."

"Me neither," her mind flashed back to Aomine's repulsive indifference. Scrunching her nose, Hana lifted her head to the sky, "I mean, I knew you'd get your ass kicked, but I didn't know it'd be that brutal. He's a lot stronger than I remember."

Making a noise in the back of his throat, Kagami brought Hana's attention back to him, "How are we going to beat that?"

 _Good question._ Clenching her fists, she managed another shaky sigh before plastering a strained grin onto her face, "Practice, praying, and possible human sacrifice."

Apparently, it wasn't the best time for jokes because Kagami didn't so much as crack a smile. A layer of stagnation fell over the two of them, with Kagami glaring at the floor of the court and Hana still digesting the confrontation. The silence finally became too much for Kagami and the redhead began to struggle to his feet.

"Idiot," Hana moved closer before holding a hand out in offering, "Don't strain yourself. You already screwed up your legs, don't screw up your ass by falling on it too."

For a second it seemed Kagami was going to ignore her, but finally he lifted his hand and interlaced it with her own, "Thanks."

"No problem. You can't kill Aomine if your injured, can you?" pulling at his hand, Hana once again attempted to inject some humor into the situation, "I'm not doing all the work, someone's got to do the heavy lifting and hide the body."

He simply stared at her, "… You know, you can be damn scary sometimes?"

"Well, yeah," this time she let out a genuine laugh, "Haven't you met the same guys I have? They'll never respect you unless you're a bit terrifying."

At the statement, Kagami saw the briefest flash of blonde hair before shaking the comparison off, "Huh, I guess that makes sense."

"You'll understand eventually," she pulled at his hand one last time before losing her grip. Honestly, Hana tried to drop him gently, but that was like 90 kilograms of body mass right there, "Hot damn, you're heavy as shit."

There was a stunted grunt as he landed back on ground, "Imamura. What the hell?"

"Look, I tried to do the bonding moment thing," this time Hana just watched as Kagami struggled to his feet. She felt a little bad, but seriously, he was really freaking heavy and her noodle arms just couldn't handle it, "I'm short as hell though and you're all… you."

"Shut up," Kagami let out a low sigh before wiping a rouge band of sweat off his brow. For a brief moment, they stood together in companionable silence. Frowning at the clouding sky, Kagami registered something, "Do you know how late we are?"

"Erhhm," Hana fiddled in the pocket of her sweatpants and fished out her phone, "Oh. Oh, no."

"What is it?"

"It's been like an hour— you idiot! You played basketball!"

Kagami blanched at the threat that realization promised.

Unconsciously, both teenagers' mouths moved as one, "Shit."

x

* * *

x

 _Oh, my poor legs._

So many laps. So much sweat. So much _pain._

Sitting on the front steps of the school, Hana rubbed at her thigh. The scowl that grew on her mouth only resulted in a giggle from her companion. _Oh, I'd like to see you run twenty laps!_ Hana was pretty damn sure five of those laps were Momoi's fault to begin with. Since Riko couldn't punish someone from a different school, she took her anger out on the next best thing, Hana.

"Sorry, Ima-chan," Momoi brought a hand up to cover her growing grin, "Your expressions are just too cute."

"I'm not cute," Hana grumped, kneading her fingers into an overworked tendon, "I'm ferocious. Speaking of that, you need to get your guard dog a leash."

 _Opps._ That probably wasn't the best way to break that into the conversation, but she didn't feel too bad. To be frank, Hana was still a bit miffed about the whole thing. _If they keep popping up every five seconds, I want a warning system._

"… You saw him?" Some of the light faded from Momoi's smile, making Hana lose the edge of her annoyance, "Sorry about that. I wasn't sure if he'd stay or not. I hope he didn't do anything too bad?"

 _Ugh, puppy eyes._ Pausing from her mini-massage, Hana tapped a sardonic finger against her forehead, "Nothing I couldn't handle," _that's a load of bullshit, "_ Don't worry about it, I think I was just born with an asshole magnet, they all seem to flock to me."

 _All problems can be ignored with humor—_

"That's true," Momoi leaned back, perching her arms on the step behind her. Her pink eyes trailed up to stare at the sunset, "But, Ima-chan? You don't have to pretend with me. I understand what you're going through."

… _Or not. Damn mind reading powers._ Ducking her head, Hana returned her attention to her legs. It was a half-assed attempt at distraction, but at least it was something, "Sorry. It's just—" the words she wanted to say dried up in her throat, so Hana went with the next best, "I thought it would be easier, you know?"

"That everyone would see where they went wrong," Momoi didn't seem to notice Hana's falter and continued the train of thought for her, "Or we'd get used to it and it wouldn't hurt to see them again?"

"Yeah," fumbling with her skirt, Hana peeked her head up to stare at Momoi through her bangs, "See, you're so much better at this shit. You make it sound all elegant."

"It's okay to open up," Ignoring Hana's attempt at nonchalance, Momoi brought home her next point with startling accuracy, "That way you don't have to run off." _Ouch._

"I didn't run—" Momoi raised a judgmental eyebrow at Hana's denial, "Okay, but I was just giving you a chance to woo Kuroko— stop looking at me like that, dammit."

"It wasn't like that. I do understand though; our conversation did get pretty dark," reaching out, Momoi gently patted her on the knee, "But I'll still be here when you're ready to talk about it."

 _Ugh._ See, now she felt guilty. It wasn't her fault, per say, but that didn't stop the slick sludge of blame from building. But… girls were hard. Learning from her friendship with Momoi, Hana realized that somehow girls just seemed to _know_ everything. _Like, where do they learn that? How do I develop this new superpower?_

That wasn't really the issue though. It fell down to the fact that when Hana talked to her male friends, they understood what she was saying, but they didn't _empathize._ They took the problem at face value and gave her a sure-footed answer. Momoi though… it appeared as if Momoi could feel exactly what Hana did.

And honestly? That sort of freaked her out.

"Good," Hana laid her hand on top of Momoi's, squeezing it once in thankfulness even as she declined to elaborate, "I'll remember that, and hey, same goes to you. If Aomine ever becomes too much to handle, I'm your girl."

"…" thankfully, Momoi allowed the subject change and merely blinked at her, "Aomine-kun is always too much to handle."

 _Truer words have never been spoken._

"Have you tried a squirt bottle? Every time he acts like a dick, spray him in the face," at the accompanying mental image of a drenched Aomine, Hana cackled, "Holy shit, I can see it now! That'd be great!"

"You know," Momoi brought a finger to her chin in thought, "I think Midorin tried that once when he wouldn't clean his locker."

"Well we've got to do it again, but with everyone. Hell, let's get water guns instead. Can you imagine their reaction?"

"I don't know if I could do that to Tetsu-kun… or Akashi-kun."

"Fine, Kuroko can join our team and do it. He'll be the secret weapon to infiltrate their ranks—"

Sadly, their world domination got cut short. While Momoi broke down into giggles, Hana's phone chose that time to start up its jingle. Specifically, the annoying American one Uoya set up. Both girls turned toward her backpack and Hana hastily fumbled to retrieve the embarrassing piece of metal.

"Crap," Hana tapped the phone on and squeaked into the receiver, "Hello?"

"Imamura-cchi? Where are you?"

"… you're already there?" forgetting her guest audience, she gawked, "Kise! You should have told me!"

"I did!" Kise's whine filled the receiver and Hana didn't even have to imagine his pout, "I texted you five times; my shoot ended early today."

"Shit. I'm sorry, Riko had me running laps," stumbling off her step, Hana reached for her bag and precariously balanced at the top of the staircase, "I'll be right over there— I'm not even that far. Like, ten minutes tops? Maybe six if I run."

"Imamura-cchi, it's okay if you can't—"

"No, no! I really need your help, alright? Uhm," Looking over at Momoi, Hana tugged her lip into her mouth. _I don't like that expression, it promises bad things._ Shaking off the feeling, Hana returned her focus to the phone, "I'm going to hang up, but I'll be there as soon as possible."

Hana didn't even wait for Kise's reply before clicking off the phone. Skipping down the steps two at a time, she safely landed at the bottom and turned her attention up to Momoi. The tint in the fellow manager's eyes could only be described as scheming.

"Ki-chan?" Momoi's grin grew at Hana's flustered glower, "That's so cute."

"It's not what you think—" Hana paused when Momoi began to ruffle through her hoodie pocket. One second passed before a small tube was tossed into the air. Catching it, Hana looked at the little container of lip gloss suspiciously, "I hope you're not implying what I think you are."

"It's vanilla," Momoi avoided the question easily, "Try not to use it all~"

 _Pure evil shouldn't exist inside someone with pink hair, that's so wrong._ Clasping the lip gloss in her hand, Hana stared at Momoi, "… Do people realize how horrible you are? Or is this a side of you only I see?"

"Aomine-kun does," the lighthearted atmosphere faded in the blink of an eye as a melancholy smile pulled up Momoi's lips. _Shit, not again._ Around them, the sun began to lower behind the skyline and the recesses of orange light tinted Momoi's hair, "Can we make a new promise before you leave, Ima-chan?"

Catching the gravity in the question, she swallowed, "Of course."

"I know we play against each other tomorrow, but no matter what happens," Momoi paused at the unwelcomed reminder, but she wasn't finished yet, "We'll always be friends, right?"

 _I can do that._ Despite the serious air, Hana smirked, "You know you can't get rid of me that easily."

The past few days had been rough and her heartstrings ached from all the turmoil they'd gone through, but seeing the relieved grin spreading across Momoi's face almost made it all worth it.

 _If only everything was this simple._

xXxXxXxXxXx

Ten minutes may have been a bit of an understatement.

Hana forgot to factor in the fact her legs felt like liquid hellfire and as such, running was out of the question. Even though the evening crowd wasn't terrible, there were just enough people that she got jostled at every stop sign. When she finally, _finally,_ made it to the designated meeting ground, Hana could cry. It was just so beautiful and it was calling her goddamn _name_.

Not even Kise's noise of confusion stopped her. Hana simply continued to march to the metal bleacher before slamming her body down onto it's wonderful, chilled surface.

 _I've found heaven._

"Imamura-cchi?" Kise blinked at her, arms still held up in shooting position, "Are you okay?"

 _No. I want to chew my legs off._ Snuggling into the bench, Hana peeked up at him through her bangs, "I'll let you know in five minutes. Once I can breathe again."

He'd obviously been here for a while. It was apparent in the disheveled state of his clothing and the lack of energy at her arrival. Despite popular fangirl belief, Kise did not have unlimited levels of sunshine radiating out of his ass. _Thank god._ Hana hadn't been sure she had the mentally stability to handle that after the week of hell she'd been through.

Meanwhile, Kise shook his head with an indulgent smile before following through with his shot. It swooshed through the net perfectly, "We could have rescheduled—"

"No, I need your help," rolling onto her back, and subsequently flailing as she tried not to fall off, Hana sighed, "This is pretty last minute and I know we were supposed to hang out, so if you don't want to…"

"You haven't explained yet," jogging after the ball, Kise spun on his heel before preforming a dunk suspiciously like Kagami's. When he dropped from the hoop, a teasing grin spread over his lips, "I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."

Placing a palm behind her, Hana pushed herself into a sitting position. _Oh man, that hurt like hell._ Stretching her legs out, she motioned for Kise to come sit beside her, "Technically this is going to count as subterfuge, but I think it evens itself out in the fact that Aomine's a dick face."

"…" Kise paused in his movements toward her, "I'd really like to know what's going on now, Imamura-cchi."

"Then come on, but just so you know, by sitting down you agree to help," Hana motioned to the empty space again, "It's your call."

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Kise let out an amused sigh, "You aren't giving me much of a choice, you know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about—"

With surprising gracelessness, Kise collapsed into the space beside her. Placing the basketball in his lap, he nudged her with one sharp shoulder, "It's written all over your face," his fingers drummed across the top of the ball, "So, what's the big secret, Imamura-cchi?"

"Hold up," tilting to the side, Hana reached for her bag and retrieved her phone. Feeling Kise's eyes tracing her every move, she scrolled through her recent photo's before pulling up the video of Aomine and Kagami's match, "Can you watch this and tell me what you think?"

Two smooth fingers plucked the phone out of her grasp. Reclining into the bleacher, Kise brought the phone up to his face and pressed play. Each second that passed forced his face into a new emotion all ranging from confusion, to surprise, to shock, and finally to resignation. When the video ended, Kise's bangs hid his final thoughts from Hana's observation.

"Aomine-cchi hasn't changed much," after a minute, he tilted his head back before letting out a subdued chuckle, "He's still so mean."

 _Yeah, 'mean' is totally not the word I'd use._ Retrieving her phone, Hana fumbled with it as she gathered the words she wanted to use, "We play him in the finals tomorrow, but I don't doubt all of your gossipy asses knew that."

"Rude," the pout Kise pulled looked anything but genuine, "We don't gossip."

"Yes, you really do," Hana rolled her eyes at the flood of denial spouting from his lips, "Whatever, that's not what I wanted to talk about. Uhm… I actually wanted to ask for a favor."

He perked up like an excited puppy, but there was an edge of suspicion under the mask, "What kind of favor?"

 _Okay, start from the top._ With a deep breath, Hana began, "So, Tōō isn't going to be easy to defeat. I know that, you know that, everyone knows that. And," she waved her phone in the air, "We both just saw how easily Aomine took Kagami down which means we need to find a way for Kagami to defend against him."

"…" golden eyes narrowed at the explanation, "How are you going to do that?"

"See, that's where your wonderful self comes in," Hana motioned her hand in demonstration, "I know you've never copied Aomine's movements fully before, but whatever you _can_ copy, Kagami should be able to defend against because it'll be in his skill level. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Kise hummed, "You want me to try and copy Aomine-cchi, but I don't understand how that benefits Kagami-cchi."

"If you can do it, Kagami can do it," Hana paused, "At least that's what I hope. Anyway, if you can copy even some of Aomine's movements, then Kagami should be able to counter whatever you _can_ copy. It's mostly just giving me a base idea of the skill difference between them."

"Can I see your phone again?" Hana held it out without complaint and Kise rewound the video. When it was over, he flicked his gaze up to her own with feline poise, "Hmm… I'm still a little confused, but I guess I can try."

"Look, I'll owe you one. I'm not sure how your copycat thing works, but I'll try to understand—" _Wait, wait, what?_ Hana cut herself off and raised a hand, "That's it? You agreed? Just like that? Not that I'm upset, but _what?_ "

Slipping off the bench, Kise palmed the basketball before starting up a lazy dribble, "I don't mind helping you, Imamura-cchi. You don't need to look so surprised."

"But—" she barely managed to get her mouth to move, "I thought I'd—" her eyes narrowed as the pieces clicked together, "You want something."

Like the imp he was, Kise merely laughed, "You're the one that said you owe me."

Hana kind of hated that his grin no longer pissed her off. In fact, it seemed to do the exact opposite. Watching the blonde move back to the court, her mouth twitched into a identical smile when his brows lowered in contemplation. _I don't think he realizes how confused he looks._ A moment of thought passed before Kise started to jog and Hana took that as the signal to begin, aiming her phone's camera into position.

"…" Kise looked over his shoulder and, catching her attention, he sprinted toward the hoop before attempting Aomine's formless shot. It was a complete and utter failure, but he still grinned, "Focus on my left side, it's my best angle~"

 _Really now?_

When the container of Momoi's lip gloss promptly smacked him in the head, Hana denied all involvement.

x

* * *

 **Reviews!**

 **Addicted** **: I'm so happy to hear that! It makes my day to hear that you enjoy going into Hana's world, best compliment ever. As for the multiple endings, that's almost 100% going to be the outcome. I've become attached to all the guys and I just can't hurt them! So no worries, the adorableness will remain. Thank you for the review!**

 **Amgs:** **Awwwh, thank you! I'm glad you liked last chapter and the kinky captains (I hope that's what you were referring too hahah). Thank you for the kind words and I promise I'll look after myself! I just get so excited when I finish a chapter I can't help but post it! And finally, thank you for reading! I wouldn't be anywhere without you guys.**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuch:** **Opps, here comes Aomine. I'll agree with you though, Midorima's moment was one of my favorites just because it felt natural? Idk, it was just so easy to type and it made my day. But poor Hana… I do agree hahah. Thank you for review, friend!**

 **Crystalviolet24 : ****I'm glad to hear you like the long chapters! I do agree with that feeling of dread sometimes though,** _ **especially**_ **when I'm editing. That's the worst. Yes, Takao was the hero of this chapter, I agree wholeheartedly! And I know! I hadn't meant for Hana to come out so honest in the Midorima moment, but she just acted out on her own. I love you're rambles, so don't worry. Thank you for another awesome, spectacular review!**

 **V olley-14-nerd: ****Glad to hear it, laughter's the best medicine! Thank you!**

 **Corralinne : ****Tsun's are always adorable and two is definitely better than one! No, thank you for your review!**

 **JeyaMendoza : ****The best one in the fandom?! Oh man, that's some high praise! Thank you! Sooo, you nailed the Kagami and Hana sibling bond! Your review is what inspired me to include that little moment. But, yes! Everyone should listen to Izuki! Takao will be interesting, I'm kind of thinking of making a little Scorpio club between Hana, Takao and another surprise person! But all the little rainbow nuggets are adorable, I totally agree! Awwwhhh, your review is so detailed and hilarious. Thank you so much!**

 **Pinkdoughtnuts** **: Thank you! Awh, I'm glad it was cute!**

 **Xxjaelee:** **Thank you so so so much! Akashi and Hana meeting will be exciting and I'm can hardly wait to write it. As for who likes her, well, that's a good question hahah. Again, thank you for taking the time to review! It was wonderful to hear it!**

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 **Imbue-Numinous : ****OJASHAKSHKADH SO MUCH FLUFF LAST CHAPTER, GLAD YOU LIKED IT! WOO HOO! Thanks for the review, you awesome person!**

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 **Guest:** **Thank you for your review and thank you for reading! Great to hear from you, friend!**


	32. Chapter 32

**So... 20,000 words later and I'm done with the Too game! I ended up breaking it into two chapters because that's a lot of freaking words. Chapter 33 will be uploaded sometime this week and** **I'm a little iffy on these two, so any support would be appreciated before I post the next chapter.** **Anyway, the angst is beginning to arrive and I'm _sorry._ I tried to intersperse some happiness, but I promise the fluff will return to it's scheduled program when this game is over. Finally, I just wanted to say thank you. I'm thankful to everyone for reading and waiting and reviewing. You guys are great. **

**Warnings : Bad language(gratuitous use of eff bombs this time), thoughts of violence, doodoo editing**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke_**

* * *

Tōō versus Seirin

The Beginning

Doubt builds quietly.

Sometimes by no fault of your own.

Patting Nūdoru's head, Hana paused in her work to bring the coffee to her mouth. The early morning sun finished its rise above the skyline and the warm light filtered in through the minuscule kitchen window. She'd made the coffee this morning, waking up a full hour before her dad, and the taste definitely reflected her handiwork. _I should do this every morning, so peaceful._

Her relaxing morning broke at the sound of foots steps creaking down the staircase. Dressed in his ratty robe, _seriously he's had that since I was born,_ her dad ran a hand over his face before his gaze landed on her. One fuzzy eyebrow rose in confusion, but he shook it off and lumbered into the kitchen. A few minutes of clattering later and he returned.

"You look worse than usual," the kitchen table cracked as her father sat down, "Big game today?"

 _Gee, thanks._ Despite the internal sarcasm, Hana had to agree her dad had a point. The past two days were filled to the brim with activity and she'd neglected her sleep schedule pretty heavily. Last night, for example, she didn't fall asleep until three in the morning. Unhealthy, sure, but effective none the less. _I can nap in class anyway._

"We're facing off against Tōō for a spot in the finals," tapping her pencil against her coffee cup, Hana scanned over her notes, "Remember Aomine? That's his team now."

A tired huff escaped her father's lips and Hana belatedly noticed the matching circles underneath his eyes, "You can make your own choices and I won't interfere, but you need to focus on yourself."

 _What?_ Her confusion echoed into her voice, "Where'd that come from?"

"When's the last time you slept?" he brought a hand up to rub through his receding hair, "I wake up in the middle of the night and your light's always on. You don't come home until the sun sets and you leave just as quickly."

"I— I slept last night," the defense was useless under her father's probing gaze and Hana's shoulders dropped, "It's been busy; we've had a lot of games to get ready for."

"I just don't understand, Hana," another sigh crawled out of his chest, "What do you get out of this? I didn't say anything when you were in middle school, but you're growing up now. You're only a manager—"

 _Hold the freaking phone._ Hana promptly choked on a sip of coffee, "What?" coughing to regain her breath, she began again, "Where is this coming from? I'm doing great in all my classes, what's the issue?"

"I want to make sure you're doing this for _you,_ " her father lifted his head and pinned her to the seat, "Not to get back at those boys, not for your pride, not for any other reason you've created. I want to understand why you're sacrificing so much of your life for this."

 _This is too damn deep for an early morning conversation._ The room felt too small, but she forced herself to reply, "Dad, I'm fine. Yeah, I've probably been going over board, but you don't need to worry."

He only raised an eyebrow, "You didn't answer the question, Hana."

Her face fell. _Well maybe that's because I don't have an answer!_ Now that she thought about it, there really wasn't a way to put it into words. It was just _habit_ to give her all to her team. Sure, you don't get scholarships for being a manager and yeah, maybe she'd been going overboard lately. But that didn't matter. _The only thing that matters is…_

"Look, I just like basketball," to combat the suddenness of the lie, Hana fiddled with the mess of papers in front of her, "It reminds me of mom." She glanced back up at him uncertainly, "Is that all?"

The tension that painted his face began to fade. Her answer seemed to appease him and Hana felt a moment of relief. Seriousness didn't suit her father. It only added to the lines of age that already dotted his face. Hana preferred him to smile and tease, not this… weird heartfelt stuff.

"Yeah. That's all I needed to hear," bracing a hand against his forehead, he offered her a tired smile, "Sorry, but it's my job to worry, after all."

"I get it," Hana traced the rim of her cup, "I'll try to take better care of myself." _Key word, try._

As another bout of silence built, her father reached across the table and pulled the top of Hana's notes toward himself. _Rude much._ Ignoring his daughter's grumble, his gaze scanned over the words and both eyebrows steadily quirked, "Wow. You know… this is actually pretty impressive."

"Why thank you," Hana deadpanned, "I love surprising people with my intellect. Gives me those warm fuzzies."

"I didn't mean it like that," with a small huff of laughter, her father turned the page over, "You're just like your mother, intelligence and all. Speaking of her, you should call. I bet she'd understand what you're working on better than me."

Instead of agreeing, Hana brought her coffee to her mouth to hide her grimace. Well, this morning did a complete one-eighty. Not only did she have to think about Aomine, but now the effect of fatherly guilt also weighed on her shoulders. _It has been a while…_ the chilled coffee slid down her throat, _but she could have just as easily called me._

"I'll think about it when Inter-High's over," her mouth felt sour with each lie she spewed. Stressed and subsequently shamed, she pushed her chair back, "I need to take Nūdoru for a walk before I head to class."

There wasn't enough energy in her body to deal with this today. She loved her dad and a part of her loved her mom, but she couldn't focus on something so heavy right now. All her attention needed to remain on the upcoming game and how she could help her team. _I don't have the time for other distractions._

Her father seemed to be on the same page. While Hana gathered up the leash and slid her shoes on, her dad picked up both of their empty cups. He stopped for a moment to watch her before he sighed again, "I'm sorry for throwing all that on you."

"…" clipping the leash to Nūdoru's collar, Hana peered up at him, "It's fine, you're just being a dad."

"A good dad would support you," He leaned against the kitchen door frame with a humorless laugh, "You're already stressed and I'm sure I didn't help."

 _Sad dad is bad dad…_ Her movements stopped for a second as that thought registered. _Izuki's ruined me._

"I think feeding me counts as support," she quipped instead, straightening up and giving him a smirk, "Besides, it's not your fault I'm so stubborn."

The barest hint of a smile broke across his face, "I wonder who you inherited that from?"

"Well," twirling on her heel, Hana tugged Nūdoru through the door before shooting out her parting, "I know I get the best parts of me from you, old man!"

xXxXxXx

Half an hour later, Hana collapsed against an alley wall four blocks from her house. The impromptu run worked successfully and now her heart beat with the dredges of overexertion, but her mind was blissfully blank. A lone drop of sweat trickled down her brow. Beside her, Nūdoru fell into an exhausted pile of fur as his pink tongue lolled out of his mouth.

Sliding down the concrete wall, Hana reached a hand out to rub between his ears, "Good boy."

At her voice, Nūdoru pressed his head into her palm.

"I've done all I could," a tint of cynicism creeped into her tone, "… right?"

x

* * *

x

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

Everything remained tinted in a layer of anxiety and she couldn't force herself to stop thinking. No matter what she was doing, the game always returned to the forefront of Hana's mind and classes were spent obsessively pouring over the same notes. Kagami even stepped in during their English lecture and confiscated them.

That hadn't gone over well and Hana lost her favorite pencil in the scuffle.

At least school was over and the dreaded highlight of her day began its approach. After dragging her feet to the stadium, Hana now sat on the dressing room floor with Riko on her left side. Both girls were absorbed in their notes and occasionally throwing ideas back and forth. Well, Riko did and Hana tried to keep up. _Coach uses too many technical terms._

Meanwhile, the only boys who'd arrived were Hyuuga and Tsuchida and both still wore their school clothes. The game started in forty-five minutes and the four of them were the unlucky souls who'd arrived early. _Seriously, where's the damn air conditioner? I know there has to be one—_

"You're here early, Imamura," Hyuuga broke up the girl's work by dropping his bag to the floor, "What'd you do?"

"Oh, how your doubt hurts me, Hyuuga-senpai," Hana didn't look up from the game plan, but she still smirked at Hyuuga's resulting huff. "It's okay though, I finished my scheming early this time."

With an eye roll, Hyuuga pulled his shirt over his head, "Should we worry?"

"Honestly?" she peeked up at him before placing Riko's highlighter down. The coach grumbled in return, but Hana kept her attention on the captain, "Probably not. Kind of sticking with the honorable route today. You should be proud."

She'd been hoping for more of a reaction. _Maybe some explosions?_ Instead, the captain pulled on his jersey, barely glancing at her from the corner of his eye, "As long as you didn't steal anything."

"You make me sound like a thief," Hana pouted as she stretched her legs out, "Which I'm not—"

Three voices spoke in surprising synchrony, "You are."

… _Rude._

"Tsuchida?" Hana gaped. To be fair, Riko and Hyuuga's commentary hadn't been the least bit surprising, but Tsuchida was unexpected. Her mouth dipped into a pout. _And to think! I thought we bonded,_ "How could you?"

Her fellow teammate didn't offer her any reply other than a smile. Hana's eyes narrowed in return. _Uh-huh, I already saw where your loyalties lie. I'll remember this._ While Hana gave the upperclassman a promising look, she missed the noise of confusion that left Riko's mouth. At least until a finger jammed her in the ribcage.

 _What the hell?_ Hana coughed as she turned toward the perpetrator, "Ow—"

"What's this?" Riko's pencil tapped on the second page of notes. Specifically, the ones that compared Kise and Kagami. The coach's mouth pursed, "Why do you have notes on Kise-kun?"

"Oh, yeah. That," leaning forward, Hana looked over Riko's shoulder and motioned toward the mess, "Those are Aomine's moves that Kise can copy. I hoped that meant they were on Kagami's level, but my information screwed up. Like that," her hand motioned toward the third bullet point, "Kise couldn't do that shot when we started, but by the end, he had it down perfectly."

 _Which was damn annoying._ It should have been expected though. There wasn't an easy way to classify _any_ of the miracles and attempting to on such short notice was destined for failure. _Especially with Kise and Aomine._ She could only hope that some of the information would up their chances.

"…" Riko side eyed the manager, "You have strange ideas, Imamura-chan. You also forgot to calculate in Kagami-kun's injury."

Well, there went that little hint of hope. _You've got to be shitting me._ Licking at dried lips, Hana offered a strained grimace, "Great… my bad."

"Don't worry about it," the coach flipped back to the first page of notes with a pleased smile. When Riko's hazel eyes flicked up to Hana's own, they held a hefty amount of fortitude, "Everything else looks great. The rest of the information will come in handy later. Good job."

 _How can I not worry? It's goddamn Aomine._ Hana grinned despite the sobering thought, "Oh? I've got to say, I'm loving the praise."

Honestly, she should have learned by now.

"…" A suspicious lack of movement was Hana's only warning before Riko smacked her in the head. While Hana cradled her forehead, Riko's eyes blazed with an unholy glint, "Don't get cocky! This game is important!"

The slap was enough to gain both boys' attentions. After a year of hearing that noise, they were smart enough to fear it. Slamming the locker shut, Hyuuga turned toward the girls with raised eyebrows, "What are you two arguing about?"

 _Okay… I'd rather not share my failures._ On that note, subject changes are best executed when no one expects them. So, that was why, when Hana saw the proffered chance, she latched onto it. One glance at the shirtless Tsuchida provided her the perfect opportunity. _I've been wondering about this anyway…_

"How weird it is you all don't have chest hair," Hana cut Riko off before the coach could say anything. When all three upperclassmen stared at her, she merely raised an eyebrow, "What? It's a serious question."

No one could answer. In their place, the dressing room door cracked open as the vice-captain walked in. His feet paused and one black eyebrow rose in curiosity, "What's a serious question?"

"Why you guys don't have hair on your chests," Hana enlightened him before motioning to the still shirtless Tsuchida, "Isn't that part of puberty?"

"Oh," Izuki blinked at the question, glancing down at his own chest thoughtfully, "I'm not sure."

The temperature dropped a notch and attention turned toward the culprit. Hyuuga twitched as his fingers tightened into fists, "Don't encourage her. We aren't talking about—"

His voice cut off at the sound of a creak.

"Talking about what?" Koganei walked through the door, followed by Mitobe. Both boys paused at the strange atmosphere, "What'd we miss?"

Hana shrugged, "Chest hair. Got some?"

"Uhm?" Koganei exchanged a wary glance with Mitobe, "Why are you—"

Riko groaned and slammed her face into her palms when the door opened for a third time.

"What?" Several unblinking gazes turned toward the dressing room exit. With one foot in the door, the new arrival stared at them in bafflement, "Did I do something?"

"Kagami!" When no one seemed fit to reply, Hana crawled to her knees and pointed a finger at the startled ace. Someone that big _had_ to have gone through puberty, "Do you have chest hair?"

"…" He stared at her, face misleadingly blank until he spoke, "I'm coming back later."

"Wait, _wait!_ You didn't answer!"

Her yell went for naught as Kagami turned on his heel and marched out the door. Seconds of silence reined, only broken by the occasional confused whisper or the budding growl that leaked from their captain's throat. With an awkward chuckle, Tsuchida finally put a shirt on and communication began again.

In the meantime, Hana turned away from the door with a scoff, "It was just a little question. He didn't have to be a drama queen—"

"Kagami-kun is always dramatic."

The sound of screaming filled the air, bouncing from every corner as their surprise guest announced his presence. Sitting primly on the floor, Kuroko merely looked at them all. Even when Riko ducked behind the closest teammate and Hana slapped him in the shoulder, he showed no outward reaction. _Dick._

"Don't do that," Hana breathed, clutching at her stuttering heart, "You're a sadist. You've got to be a sadist—"

"If you believe so," Kuroko blinked at her, "But to answer your earlier question, I also do not have any chest hair."

 _Are you serious?_ While her teammates recollected from their shock, Hana slowly brought a hand to her head. Her eyes never left Kuroko's own even as fond exasperation crawled up her spine. She didn't know when he'd managed to sneak in here, but from the lack of distance between them, she should have damn well noticed.

 _This little shit._ Hana sighed, rubbing a finger against her sore temple, "I hate you."

"Imamura-san," Kuroko gracefully crawled to his feet, his hand skimming the top of Hana's head before walking to a locker, "You shouldn't lie about your feelings. You sound like Midorima-kun."

"… Now, I _really_ hate you."

x

* * *

x

If only a moment could last forever.

After another one of coach's pep talks, the team filed out of the dressing room. The carefree attitude displayed earlier faded with each step and everyone wore tension as a cloak. It was a subtle effect, not outwardly spoken or expressed, but it existed on each persons' shoulders. From her spot behind Furihata, Hana brought her clipboard to her chest. _I'm so ready for a vacation._

The attention from the audience did little to settle her mounting nerves. Unlike their previous matches, a good group of people were packed into the stadium. Their chatter echoed through the silent court like a mosquito's hum, covering the hush that hung over her teammates.

Across the court, Tōō emerged from their exit. The crowd perked at the sight and every eye rested on their rival. Scanning the faces of their next opponent, Hana's steps faltered. _He couldn't have…_ _Maybe he's just taking a shit_.

With their new sense of unity, Kagami's voice repeated her thought process, "Excuse me, where's Aomine?"

"That self-centered bastard is running late!" The Tōō player responded and, through her building rage, Hana belatedly registered his face as Wakamatsu. _I'm going to kill him._

As Imayoshi began to apologize, a suspicious silence reverberated through her ears.

Staring at the Tōō captain, the clipboard clenched between Hana's fingers let out a low creak. _So much shit, for him not to come?_ This just wasn't acceptable. _We've come this far. We deserve to be respected._ Her teeth stabbed unforgivingly into her lip and Hana trailed her gaze to Momoi, only to be greeted by a defeated smile. _Shit._

It was the sympathy in her friend's face that had Hana sucking in a deep breath.

She couldn't do shit about Aomine's absence and throwing a fit now would only hurt her friends. Sure, she could call him and raise up a fuss, but that wouldn't do anything right now besides stall the inevitable. _He will deal with my wrath later._ On the other hand… he wasn't the only one to hold accountable.

"So, you just let him ditch?" Hana didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until Imayoshi turned toward her, "You're the captain."

A pleasant smile quirked his lips, "I assure you, it wasn't intentional. You'd understand if you met Aomine-kun, he simply isn't a person you can—"

"Met him before," Hana cut him off, ire quickly skyrocketing at the condescending response, "Drag him by the ear. Burn his porn. Threaten his life. Stab him in the hand— all of the above work. Choose one."

 _Okay, that might have come across a bit too strongly._ Judging by all the glances she was being gifted, her audience had to agree. Even Momoi looked incredulous, and that was saying something because she'd been part of Hana's more intense ranting sessions. _But, man, now I'm pissed._ The clipboard creaked again.

"I'll remember that," despite the tension around them, Imayoshi remained composed, "Though it's a mote point, Aomine-kun will be joining us for the second half of the game." The Tōō captain shifted his attention to the rest of her team, "I guess you can call us the opening act."

Eyes slanted in a smile, Imayoshi's expression remained perfectly neutral. _Which is creepy as hell._ Nothing hinted toward truth or deception, but judging from her friendly information squad, this little act wasn't to be trusted. She could definitely see the relation to Hanamiya. Frankly, that little fact didn't help his case much.

 _Liar, liar, pants on fire._ Hana tilted her head, subsequently ignoring her own captain's glare, and crossed her arms over her chest, "I call bullshit."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?" Imayoshi pushed at the nose of his glasses and fixed that unnerving gaze onto Hana. When he spoke again, she mildly wondered if this was how it felt to be dissected, "Oh well, please go easy on us."

"Hey, look! More bullshit—" her shoulders slumped in time with the palm covering her mouth. _Figures._ Rolling her eyes, Hana turned her defiant stare to Hyuuga above her. _You can never let me have any fun, can you?_

"Ignore her. Our manager doesn't have the best manners," Hyuuga's hand tightened over her mouth before pulling her toward their side of the court. The last part of his statement was hissed through clenched teeth, "We'll be working on it."

 _Oh, so it's okay when Kagami talks shit, but not when I do it?_ Sadly, her pout remained hidden under Hyuuga's unyielding hand. It only took two giant steps before they joined the rest of their teammates at the sidelines. _Since when did everyone start manhandling me again?_ Finally deeming it safe to release her, Hyuuga took a step back and leveled Hana with a glare.

"What?" She threw her hand toward Tōō's side of the court, "All that opening act stuff is such a fraud _._ He's supposed to be manipulative and I don't trust him a goddamn bit."

Hyuuga's glasses flashed as he spared a quick glance at the Tōō captain. Around them, the rest of the team listened with varying levels of interest. From her position at the head of the group, Riko frowned before flipping through the multiple papers on her clipboard. Before Hyuuga could offer a response to Hana's opinion, the coach spoke.

Letting out a long sigh, Riko pinched the bridge of her nose, "We don't know what we're up against, so she may be right, but try to behave, Imamura-chan."

"Fine, fine," tilting her head to the ceiling, Hana huffed, "But I hold the option to say I told you so."

The coach twitched, "I'm serious."

"Me too," Hana easily refuted, "Still don't trust him. No one should be that easy going about losing their ace."

"For once I agree with Imamura," Kagami grunted from the farthest side of the bleacher. _He had better agree with me after yesterday._ One red eye glanced in their direction as he shoved his jacket off, "I can't believe that bastard skipped out."

Hana understood where Kagami came from and, judging from his shaded expression, Kuroko did too. From Kuroko's appearance alone, she sorely wanted to punch Aomine square in the dick for this little stunt. _Honestly, Kuroko deserves better friends._ But, another, quieter part of her wasn't surprised at all by this outcome or Aomine's disregard.

 _The past repeats itself and all that jazz._

"You played against Aomine before, right?" Izuki's question pulled Hana out of her memories, "Your motivation hasn't dropped since then, has it?"

"No way," Kagami released a mocking little scoff, "If anything I'm pissed."

 _When are you not?_ Hana raised an eyebrow as she scuttled toward an open spot on the bleacher, "What a surprise. Being pissed doesn't do anything though, so you better have a plan inside that thick skull." Wiggling a bit, Hana tried to make herself comfortable for the long game ahead, "So, what is it?"

"If these guys are the opening act," Kagami's glower slanted toward the Tōō team and his shoulders locked in preparation, "Then I'll pull so far ahead they can't catch up and make their star the world's biggest idiot!"

 _I see the grudge from yesterday blossomed._ Bracing a hand against her cheek, Hana observed the growing momentum and hummed _,_ "Well, I guess that's a plan. A shitty plan— but whatever."

As per usual, most of her teammates ignored her commentary. _I don't really have room to judge anyway._ While the rest of the boys finished getting ready and engaged in their own singular conversations, Hana turned her attention to Tōō's side of the court. Some of the faces stood out from her notes, but her focus ended up locked on Momoi.

Both girls stared at each other, something hidden passing through each face before Hana plastered on a competitive smirk _. Ready?_ Momoi blinked in outward surprise before repeating Hana's own actions. The moment felt prophetic, but Hana put it down to old rooted paranoia.

"I agree," the absence of Kuroko's neutral tone startled Hana into awareness, "Aomine-kun is dangerous and we should score as much as possible before he arrives. But the opponent in front of us is everything."

"All right, you got it," Hyuuga spoke after a second's pause, "Let's go all out."

And with that, the team moved in unity to the court. Placing her clipboard on her knees, Hana smoothed a sweaty hand over the top eyes moved down to the assortments of notes before catching sight of the name that caused today's turmoil. _Aomine…_ Just because Kuroko took the moral high ground on the issue didn't mean Hana would follow in his steps.

 _He thinks he can just do whatever the hell he wants! Well, he's got another thing coming!_

"Stupid prick," the sharp end of her pen stabbed into his name. Hana repeated the motion five times before she was satisfied, "You better have felt that. Just the goddamn start of what I'm going to do to you—"

A timid finger poked her in the shoulder, "Imamura-chan? Are… are you okay?"

Her head lifted and Hana pushed the stray edge of her bangs away. The sight that greeted her consisted of three terrified freshmen and Koganei, who repeated her name again. It was the wariness in his tone that had Hana following their line of sight to her notes… _and_ the gaping hole where Aomine's name used to exist.

"Opps," she rubbed over the torn paper, "My bad."

A pause—

" _That's all you have to say?!"_

xXxXxXxXx

Her mouth was sealed.

Mostly.

"This guy…" Hana's eye twitched when the newest object of her annoyance managed to score another two points, "If he gets one step closer, I'm throwing my shoe. I hope it kills him."

Kagami's original plan to earn as many points as possible continued to be a huge flop. The start of the game began in Tōō's lead with Imayoshi tricking out Hyuuga and Tōō scoring the first point. So, low and behold, Imayoshi was the complete pain in the ass she'd figured he'd be. Fast, quick witted, and a huge annoyance, the Tōō captain fit her warning nice and proper.

In respect of the moment, she wasn't going to say I told you so, but it really tickled on the tip of her tongue. _It was in the notes!_

Speaking of her notes, Kawahara held her clipboard and flipped through the information. His movements stumbled a second later before a gasp squeaked out of his throat, "Their scores are insane. They're all one hundred-point games!"

"They're strong," Riko agreed from her position to Hana's left, "Even without Aomine, they're winning. It's pure offense."

"It's pure bullshit," Hana added. She didn't turn to Riko, instead letting her eyes trace over her teammates racing forms, "Aomine may be the highest scorer, but the rest of them manage to keep up. Imoyashi alone scored thirty points in that last game."

The coach's hazel eyes flicked toward her, "What about the others? There's no coordination in their movements."

"Well, the only thing they have in common is that they're all pains in the asses. Wakamatsu's all strength and giant biceps while Sakurai is like…" Hana stared at the point guard in question, "You know those little poisonous frogs? Super freaking cute, but they could still kill you? Yeah, that's him."

Furihata blinked, mouthing her words in shock, "Cute?"

"Cute," Hana nodded. _That little baby face is adorable._ Her thoughts turned into a flinch though when Sakurai managed to get past Hyuuga and score another shot for his team, "Okay. Maybe annoying is the better word in this situation."

Meanwhile, the game felt… _odd_ for some reason _,_ but Hana couldn't put her finger on it. Tōō continued to control most of the playing field. Izuki held his own against Imayoshi's defense while Mitobe and Hyuuga hugged the hoop, ready to intercept any passes. For the time being, Kuroko remained out of sight, but Hana didn't doubt he was lurking somewhere in the middle of the action.

Even when Seirin scored another shot seconds later, something still felt off.

"This feels weird," Hana's foot tapped against the floor, "It's like I've seen this exact shit before."

"Their playing style?" Riko only spared Hana a minute's glance, attention too absorbed into the game, "A lot of teams work this way."

 _I guess so._ Hana grunted, "Yeah, but everything is done so individually. Like you said, there's no coordination… "

 _Oh._ The words died in her throat. _No wonder it seemed so familiar. This style was the Generation of Miracles strong suit._ It looked like Aomine simply moved from one self-centered team to another. That tiny thought packed a punch and suddenly, Hana felt thirteen again. If she couldn't help her team then—

She remembered sitting on the sidelines, watching her team struggle through each match. The stupid frustration. The stupid helplessness as she watched the people she cared about fail time and time again. How, no matter what they did, they just couldn't win. That horrible vulnerability when you put your all out and gained _nothing_ in return.

— How did she even think she'd help them now?

 _Stop being so dramatic,_ Hana shoved the flashbacks into the box of hell they escaped from. _It's_ _not the goddamn time._

"There's no coordination," she continued her last train of thought, but this time her eyes lowered to the scuffed lamented flooring, "Anyway, it'll fall down to matching each player's strengths, but that's a pain in the ass to figure out when everything is team based."

Riko made a considering noise, "Hyuuga-kun should stay on Sakurai-kun."

"Probably," Hana agreed before focusing on the next trouble maker, "Either Izuki or Kagami should work on Imayoshi—"

Her voice trailed off when she glanced back up to the game. Proving her earlier hypothesis about coordination wrong, Imayoshi lobbed the ball down the court straight to Wakamatsu. The Tōō center only needed to take a few more steps to reach it, but Kuroko finally decided to show his ghostly presence. Of course, he chose the worst method of doing so by jumping for a ball he _clearly_ couldn't reach.

Luckily, before Hana's curse even left her mouth, Kagami took that moment to step in like the knight in shining armor he is. While Kuroko couldn't reach the ball, Kagami had no problem jumping two feet into the air to snatch it from its wayward course. _Go, monkey, go._

"Well damn," a breathy laugh escaped her as the team rushed back into their offensive positions, "Or I guess they can just do that. Whatever works."

"What was with that jump?" beside her, Riko's fists twitched in warning, "Kuroko-kun's being reckless. He shouldn't have tried that."

 _Can't blame him_. _If I'm thinking about all this, imagine the bullshit Kuroko's got running through his head._

"He isn't thinking straight," despite the nonchalance she tried to project, Hana couldn't stop her heart from moving into her throat, "This game sucks."

 _Meanwhile…_

On the top balcony of the gymnasium, golden eyes blinked.

They blinked again.

 _There's only one person with that terrible shade of green hair._ Kise's steps hesitantly came to a halt and his head tilted to the side in consideration. After a moment, his gaze came to rest on the grey pop-up box located in his subject's grasp. It matched the description of a certain lucky item perfectly. _So that really is Midorima-cchi. What a surprise._

"Midorima-cchi?" Kise tried to hide his humor, but it still managed to leak into his tone, "What are you doing here?"

There was a small spluttering sound before Midorima turned to face him, "Kise? How did you know it was me?"

"Are you stupid?" this time, Kise couldn't tamp down his amusement nor the delighted sparkle of his eyes. It was always entertaining to annoy his former teammates, "The sunglasses are embarrassing, you should take them off."

"…" behind the aforementioned sunglasses, Midorima's emerald gaze narrowed on the blonde, "They are not—"

Before he could respond, both teens were interrupted by the arrival of a third. Halfway through the doors to enter the balcony, the stranger paused before pulling an affronted expression at whatever he found on his phone. The large travel mug in his opposite hand sloshed warningly. Unbeknownst to the stranger, Kise and Midorima stared at the familiar head of grey hair.

"Uhm," Kise's voice startled the newcomer out of his stupor, "Are you alright, Uoya-kun?"

"Kise-san?" Uoya glanced up, only to lose hold on the door and for it to smack him the arm, "Ow! Gosh, that hurt. No wonder Hana hates these things." Righting himself, Uoya finally noticed the other teen on the balcony, "Oh. It's you."

Taking his sunglasses off, Midorima observed the younger boy, "Uoya-san."

"Yeah, hi," Uoya scarcely offered Midorima a glance before turning his attention back to Kise. Because of that action, he missed the insulted scoff Midorima offered at his dismissal, "Why are you— never mind, I know why. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how to get to the dressing rooms would you?"

Kise blinked, "Why?"

"I wanted to surprise Hana-chan," Uoya offered a halfhearted shrug, lifting his left hand and the coffee mug in explanation, "She's been freaking out all week. I thought she'd want something to take the edge off."

"That's nice of you," something sharp hid in Kise's tone, but there was only truth on his expression, "You'll probably have to wait till the end of the game—"

Lifting a judgmental brow, Midorima broke into the conversation, "Unless you are a teammate, you won't be allowed access."

"That's fine, I wasn't going to go now. I'm not stupid," unknown to Uoya, Midorima bristled at the repeated insult. With an awkward shuffle, Uoya motioned to the row of seating just beyond them, "Well… it was great running into you, but I'm gonna—"

"You can stay with us," Kise cut off whatever excuse Uoya began to offer, "I showed up late too, so I don't know what's happening."

Uoya took a step back, "I'm not sure—"

"It's fine," Kise gave the underclassman a saccharine smile before turning back to Midorima, "How's the game, Midorima-cchi?"

While Uoya looked longingly toward the seating area, Midorima raised a singular eyebrow in Kise's direction. The angelic mask that lay atop the blonde's features could best be described as troubling. Catching Midorima's attention, Kise hummed innocently before tilting his head toward the game in encouragement.

"It's nothing special. Aomine hasn't even arrived and they can hardly keep up," letting his words soak in, Midorima turned back to the match, "Seirin is destined to lose."

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Uoya countered as he stepped up beside Midorima. He made sure to keep a healthy amount space between them before responding, "Hana-chan said they beat you—" he trailed off when Seirin scored another two points, "See, they've got this."

"We were beaten through dumb luck," Midorima practically growled at the implication, "It was nothing."

In a gesture that Kise viewed creepily similar to Hana's own, Uoya waved a dismissive hand, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Uoya-kun's right, Midorima-cchi. Kagami-cchi and Kuroko-cchi work really well together," ignoring the earlier comparison, Kise's eyes flashed with knowledge and good faith, "I'm sure it'll be okay."

"You idiot," Midorima seethed in return, "You've forgotten that Tōō also possesses Momoi—"

"Yeah," giving the former miracle and rival a side eye, Uoya cut in, "But Seirin's got Hana."

"There are things Imamura cannot do as Momoi can," Midorima's refuted.

Uoya deadpanned, "You've met Hana, right?"

"Imamura doesn't possess the same skill—"

"Really?" Uoya leaned his body against the safety railing in front of them before raising a dubious eyebrow, "Then why'd you guys bother her all second year? I thought it was for her, you know, _skills_?"

In the background, Kise watched the verbal tennis match with wide eyes. As Midorima's face steadily got redder, a little devious part of him cackled with glee. The first time he'd encountered the hurricane that consisted of Hana's former teammates and their brother complex, he'd been mentally scarred for a solid hour and half. Kise shivered at the memory. _Of course, Iseri-kun helped with that impression._

"You're so feisty, Uoya-kun," Kise interrupted at the hitch in conversation and attempted to help Midorima save face, "You've grown up a lot, haven't you?"

Stretching his arms out, Uoya tilted his head over his shoulder to offer Kise a bland look, "You don't have to talk down to me. I've heard way too much about all of you to be intimidated anymore."

 _Well,_ Kise blinked, _that took a turn._ Exchanging a baffled look with Midorima, Kise offered Uoya a confused smile, "Sorry? I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't," Uoya shrugged, "I just don't like you much," he flicked his gaze to Midorima, "And I _really_ don't like you."

Midorima puffed up in outrage, "We've done nothing to you—"

Raising a hand, Uoya interrupted with amused condescension, "You're really dense about this whole thing, aren't you?" He turned his attention to Kise, "Do you know why I don't like you?"

 _What?_ Eye's turning into saucers, Kise looked between the two teenagers. This whole scenario seemed a bit too familiar for his tastes. He raised his hands innocently, "If you're talking about what I think you are, then… yes?"

"Alright," in the background, the referee's whistle rang out. Uoya ignored it, "What do you think I'm talking about?"

Yep, this was steadily going down a path Kise didn't want to venture. He needed to start actively avoiding Hana's friends. _What's the right answer?!_ Fighting the urge to flee like last time, Kise offered his thoughts, "If it's because I like her—"

Instead of Uoya, Midorima offered a sharp, " _What."_

Crossing his arms over his chest, Uoya took a cautious step back. This wasn't what he'd been going for or anything close to what he'd planned… but he could work with it. Besides, it was beginning to look like they were both about to provide a nice moment of entertainment. His head tilted. _Maybe I should film it_. _Hana-chan would flip out._

"I like Imamura-cchi," golden eyes flicked into a frown as Kise turned to his old friend, "I thought you knew that. I wasn't trying to be very subtle."

"Since— since when?" while the shooter choked on his question, Kise belatedly thought that the scowl overtaking Midorima's face couldn't be healthy for his skin, "How long have you— _what?"_

"I'm not sure," lifting his shoulders in a fluid shrug, Kise continued, "It just happened."

Midorima's glower deepened, "Things like this don't just happen."

"Why are you so—" The expression on Midorima's face gradually began to make sense and Kise blanched, " _Midorima-cchi!_ Are you jealous?"

"It's— it's not that! You idiot!"

"How am I the idiot?! You like her too—"

" _I do not!"_

Pursing his lips together, Uoya brought a hand up to his mouth. _Hana-chan's going to kill me._ But, watching the two males bicker, he could scarcely find it in himself to care. _This was totally worth it. Except—_

"Now that that's out," even though he was ignored, Uoya threw a thumb over his shoulder, "I'm just gonna go find a seat…"

 _Hana did always say to run after the job was done._

X

* * *

x

When Hana noticed it, she sneezed.

Violently.

"Give me my clipboard," The first quarter just begun to pick up pace and her voice broke the hush of her fellow bench mates, "I know that goddamn look."

The look in question currently resided on Momoi's pretty face. See, everyone had certain tells, either in lying or planning. In Momoi's case, her tell consisted of a singular facial expression. Hana liked to compare it to a stoned monk, but with a wickedness hiding underneath. It also reminded her a bit of Akashi— but she'd rather not think too hard on that angle.

Anyway, terrible comparisons aside, the look Momoi wore perfectly matched the above description.

"Damn information specialist. I really didn't want to deal with her shit," she flipped through her notes, "You know what I hate? People that know more than I do."

 _It won't be that easy._ Sure, Hana didn't possess the same physical knowledge that Momoi and Riko had. Hell, she couldn't even name the differences between each play, much less predict them. And don't even get her started on the muscle system… Anyway, movements were Hana's weak spot. Case in point, the failed attempt of using Kise's copycat abilities.

 _Well, we'll just have to go about this a different way._

"Are you talking about Momoi-san?" Riko questioned, though Hana hardly thought she sounded surprised.

In the meantime, they didn't have to wait long before Tōō's team members proved her hypothesis about Momoi correct. When Kagami got screened and his movements stalled out near the half court line, he attempted his signature alley-op. _Go right, go right—_ with childish flare,Hana whined when he went left and promptly got blocked off. _So Tōō knows Kagami's moves too… double damn._

"I'm talking about that," Hana stabbed a finger toward the court, "I swear she's a robot. You can't just _know_ this shit."

Despite the events happening, Riko cracked a misplaced grin, "She's messed up though. Everything's based on our movements."

"That's her specialty," handing Riko the clipboard, Hana motioned to the lower notes, "I'll leave the technical shit to you, but there's Tōō's info. Sakurai flinches when you get too close to his face. Wakamatsu's hotheaded so just piss him off and he'll lose the edge of his focus. Kind of like—" she trailed off, "Why are you all staring?"

Out of all the gawking teammates, Furihata was the first to break the silence, "Uhm, I'm sorry, Imamura-chan, but how does that help us?"

"Playing style's change naturally," Riko explained in Hana's place. A smugness grew in the coach's tone, "But personal characteristics don't. There are things she can't account for."

 _Like Kagami's demonic rage._ Hana nodded, "Momoi's great at predicting the technical stuff, which I'm complete shit at." Her mind went back to other manager's failure at courting Kuroko, "She's not the best at personality though…"

In unknowing acknowledgement to the two girl's words, Tōō continued to block off Seirin's movements. Mitobe, Hyuuga, even Izuki were subjected to the calculation of the rival manager. Hana raised a suspicious eyebrow. _Don't tell me she's forgotten about our ghost buddy?_ As the seconds ticked down and things seemed to get steeper, Riko and Hana exchanged looks.

"Hyuuga-kun looked at your notes, right, Imamura-chan?"

"Yeah," Hana rested her chin on her palm, "We won't need them though."

Riko hummed as she settled into the bleacher, "I know."

"…" Hana stole a quick look toward her, "Kuroko?"

"Kuroko-kun," Riko confirmed, "If I can't get a clear reading on him, there's no doubt Momoi-san faces the same problem."

"Oh my god, I hate that."

"You too?"

"Unfortunately."

Trying to ignore the daunting auras radiating from their coach and manager, the boys who sat on the bench returned their attention to the game with new enlightenment. Hyuuga held the ball only to get blocked and forced to pass to the Sakurai covered Izuki. The benched players simultaneously sucked in a breath— only to gawk when Kuroko appeared out of nowhere to screen Sakurai.

"What?" Fuduka turned toward the girls, "How did you two know?"

Copying a particular sequence from _The Shining_ , Hana and Riko's heads tilted in sync, "Isn't it obvious?"

Fuduka's mouth gaped open, "No?"

"Don't ask too many questions," Koganei patted the freshman on the shoulder, "Girls are scary sometimes."

"But—" When he noticed the twin grins on both girl's faces, the freshman paled, "I see your point."

Despite the lightheartedness from moments prior, all in all, there really wasn't much Hana or Riko could do about the situation. The team continued to struggle against Tōō, giving everyone an idea of the absolute depth Momoi studied them. It kind of pissed Hana off. _After everything, Momoi's still a level above me._ Now here she was, stuck on the sidelines, watching as her team fell prey to Hana's own specialty.

When the buzzer signaled the end of the first quarter, Momoi remained the main subject of conversation. The Seirin team stood in a semi-circle around their coach and manager. Sitting at Riko's feet, Hana eyed the information laid out in front of them. _We can do this. I can do this._ With a new fierceness to her demeanor, Hana returned her attention to the coach.

"She's had a year to observe the movements of our upperclassmen," Riko crossed her arms above her chest as she addressed the team, "But Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun remain new and somewhat unknown. They have the best chance at throwing Momoi off."

Clipping her notes back into place, Hana brought attention down to herself with a timely cough, "That doesn't mean the rest of you guys are shit out of luck though."

The coach nodded, "It'll be difficult, but there's no way she'll be able to fully predict your moves. It's impossible as long as you're changing."

"Switch things up," Hana stretched her legs out before adding, "You want to shoot? Pass. You want to go left? Go backwards. Knowing Momoi," she raised an eyebrow in Kuroko's direction, "She's probably predicted at least five of your next movements."

"That's right," Kuroko dipped his head in acknowledgement, "She's likely planned the whole game out."

 _Isn't that just fantastic._ If collapsing into a pile of teenage angst wasn't socially unacceptable, Hana would probably do it right about now. _I'm working myself to the bone with what I've already done,_ she clucked her tongue before gazing down to her notes. _How the hell does Momoi keep up?_

After a moment letting that soak in, Riko clapped her hands, "That being said, Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun are still our best chance. This next quarter belongs to them."

"While they're doing that, try to hit Imayoshi in the face," tilting her head toward the Tōō bench, Hana joked. Okay, she may have been a _bit_ too enthusiastic, "It'll help in the long run."

The sound of silence greeted her. _Shitty timing, huh? Opps._ Riko lowered her head to give Hana an unimpressed stare before pointing toward the court, "Give them hell, rookies!"

You know, no matter how many times she watched her team run out to the court, Hana didn't think she'd ever stop worrying. _Mother hen syndrome, maybe?_ As the backs of their jerseys got farther and farther away, she pulled her clipboard back into her lap and stared at the spot where she'd stabbed out Aomine's name. _Now what are we going to do about your dumbass?_

The game started again with little fanfare. Like the minutes before, Tōō worked on forestalling Seirin's movements. Stretching her eyes from Izuki to the Tōō sidelines, Hana latched her attention onto Momoi only to groan. _Ugh, that face again._ Feeling her stare, Momoi lifted her head. Green and pink clashed as the two girls stared at one another until Momoi broke it with a demure smile. _Seriously, I hate that goddamn face._

"Momoi knows what we're planning," Hana warned the coach, never once looking away from the pink haired girl, "You sure they've got this handled?"

Riko nodded with firm resolution, "She can't know the range of his abilities."

Hana's attention fell to one of the boys in question. _But does Kagami even know?_ She didn't think so. After jumping for another incredibly high dunk, Kagami landed against the unforgiving floor. In that jump alone, he'd managed to outreach two Tōō players by half a foot each— something that Hana _knew_ he hadn't been able to perform against Aomine yesterday.

"You're kidding me," Riko breathed. Judging from the incredulous tone, she could see something better than Hana. Though, that wasn't saying much, because Hana couldn't see shit.

"If you're talking about me—" her voice trailed off when Riko shook her head. Instead, Hana followed the invisible daggers shooting from Riko's line of sight, "What'd Kagami do now?"

"He can't help it," straightening her shoulders, the coach stepped forward, "But he can't do this, we need a substitution. Get ready, Koganei."

It felt horrible to remove their ace off the court. It felt even worse when Hana realized why. _His stupid injury._ She looked down at Kagami's legs, trying to find the invisible pain he'd been experiencing. Nothing hinted toward it as he walked toward them. _Both of his legs,_ Hana scarcely heard Riko's explanation, _that's got to feel horrible._

While her teammates bustled around, Hana didn't say a word. After a quick substitution, Kagami complained for a moment, but he was no match for Riko's authority. His sweaty body slammed into the bleacher beside Hana while Riko vacated her position to gather wrapping tape. The silence around them was only broken by Kagami's gasping breaths.

Hana didn't hesitate in handing him her water.

"…" kneeling in front of Kagami, Riko tied the last of the wrapping around his leg, "There you go. I'm not going to stop you from playing, so you can go ahead and go—" Kagami stood and Riko lowered her head, "I'm sorry."

All eyes jerked toward the coach while Kagami stalled. Cautious red eyes peered over his shoulder, "What are you sorry for?"

"It's not right to send an injured player out, but I don't have a choice. I keep calling this team play," Riko looked over each of the assembled players with a tired smile, "But it's really a style I learned from someone else. I'm— I'm not strong enough to encourage you all by myself. I need you to do it for me—"

"What?" If it was any other moment, Kagami's deadpan might have been humorous, "What are you talking about? You do enough already. You're the coach. It's your job to prepare us. If anything, you do too much."

 _What?_ Hana blinked in time with most of her teammates. _Who knew he had a sensitive side?_

"You're a brat," a pleased look overtook the coach's face, "You idiot."

 _Awhhh. Family bonding!_ Covering her mouth to hide her grin, Hana decided to pipe in,"That was too damn cute. But hey, seriously, don't kill yourself out there. We need you."

"Imamura—" Kagami had scarcely turned his head over his shoulder when it happened.

In a detached sort of horror, Hana stared at the newcomer.

She couldn't place why she was so surprised. They all knew he would come and the arm that fell over Kagami's shoulder, by all means, shouldn't have been a shock. Without a coherent form of thought, Hana observed the movement. It was a stereotypical intimidation move, intended to get into someone's personal space and startle the opponent. Hell, she'd done the same gesture herself a time or two.

So, logically, there wasn't anything of importance about the action.

Knowing all that didn't stop the hot rush of air she exhaled.

"You're showing some spirit," the shadow that Hana knew to be Aomine jeered. The only amusement in his tone laid at their expense, "So you can entertain me, even just a little bit."

"Aomine!" For a spilt second, it seemed as if Kagami intended to punch the former miracle. Instead, the redhead shoved the obtrusive arm off, "You bastard!"

 _Aomine..._ Every eye in the stadium was locked onto him. Time passed in slow motion and the way realization sunk into the souls of each Seirin teammate was almost visible. Whatever upper hand they'd attempted to achieve wouldn't hold against this. Even without Aomine, they still lacked ten points. _First Imayoshi, then Momoi, and now Aomine. This game is just one damn obstacle after another._

Trying to ignore her own beating heart for the moment, Hana allowed herself to observe her teammates. Kagami remained frozen, his expression still contorted with whispers of rage. The upperclassmen just beyond him faired in the same manner. Yet, like earlier, it was Kuroko's face that struck her the most. A determined mixture of defiance rested along the edges of his blank façade.

An overwhelmed laugh almost escaped, but Hana snatched it just in time. Her nails dug into the tender skin of her thighs. _They're all just as shocked shitless as I am._

Despite the mental turmoil occurring around them, conversation began again, mostly focused within the gathered Tōō players. Listening with half an ear, Hana heard Aomine's coach call him forward. The display of Aomine's easy nonchalance grated at cages of her formerly buried wrath. _Just ignoring the fact you ditched, huh?_

"Finally decided to show?" refusing to look at the cloying layer of unfamiliarity that surrounded her old friend, Hana directed her smirk to the floor, "I'd almost forgotten about you."

She hadn't thought he'd stop, but the few steps he'd took toward his side of the court stalled and a rough chuckle shook the rifts of his shoulders. She lifted her gaze at the noise. Like the amusement he'd displayed earlier in taunting Kagami, Aomine tilted his head over his shoulder, a white toothed smirk slicing through the shade of his face.

"Wouldn't be the first time," despite the implication, the words that left his lips were purred, "Don't assume you're that important, Imamura."

If it was physically conceivable to swallow glass, Hana would bet money it felt like this.

He didn't respond to her newfound silence, proving that even Aomine was a bigger person than herself. As he finished his movements to Tōō's section of the court, the stillness that seeped into Seirin began to dissipate. Action remained stilted, but everyone held a sense of purpose as they merged back into their positions. Though no one dared to remove their eyes from the newest addition.

Hana shook her hands out as a strange static raced through her veins. The red-hot electricity moved from her body and into her head, giving reality a lurid tint, "God, I hate him."

 _Wouldn't be the first time._ It shouldn't be possible for the world's axis to tilt with such simple words. _Don't assume you're that important._ It shouldn't be possible for all her insecurities to come crashing into the light. It shouldn't be possible—

"Imamura-chan?" Riko breached the silence, shooting her a concerned look, "That sounded pretty intense. Are you okay?"

 _Stop being a moody shit. Now's not the time._

"Yeah," Hana lied as she turned her attention back to the game, "I'm just ready to kick some ass."

x

* * *

x

Doubt comes in waves.

Like an ocean, the tide pulls out only to come crashing back in with the force of a tsunami.

Aomine's presence in the game turned the tide completely. No longer did Seirin try to pull ahead, they simply tried to keep up. In less than two minutes, Aomine successfully ruined any chance of an easy victory. His movements were fluid and unmatched to the team styled play Seirin had to offer. Their only success came in the form of Kagami… but even he'd begun to fall.

In a way that could seem gracious, the second quarter was over and the ten minutes of rest for half time began. As the team filed out of the gymnasium, everyone was exhausted. _It only took two minutes._ Trailing behind her teammates, Hana brought a fatigued hand up to her hair and removed the band holding her ponytail. Her aching head felt the relief right away, but it did little to settle anything else.

The team moved into the dimly lit hallway leading toward their dressing room. Hana emphasized with the silence that hung around her teammates. Aomine's parting words held just enough bite to make her pensive and the flashbacks from before were overtaking any rationality. _I never think things through,_ Hana huffed mentally, _that's what I get for poking the bear._

But, he'd hit a sore spot. Aomine didn't mince his words and his level of brutish honesty rivaled her own. That comment…

"Hana!" The yell echoed through the hallway and Hana perked right out of her depression fueled monologue. _Is that?_ The sight that greeted her, a lanky body leaning against the dressing room door, gave her enough life to race toward him, " _Ooof!"_

"You majestic human being," Hana nuzzled into Uoya's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his skinny waist, paying little mind to the confused noises of her teammates, "You _came!"_

"Of course, I did! I brought you—" He stumbled to keep hold of her, "Okay, I'm going to spill it!"

 _What?_ Jerking back, Hana stared into his eyes, "Spill what? If you brought what I think you did— I'll cry. All over you."

Uoya smirked before raising the mug of coffee, "Ta-da?"

" _Yes,"_ she snatched it out of his hands with barely a glance, "I love you," bringing the cup to her mouth, Hana took a reverent sip, "Oh my god, I _love_ you."

"Love you too," Uoya ruffled her hair, "It's so weird to watch you— woah, hi?"

Lifting her head, Hana caught the baffled look Uoya was giving to something just beyond her head. She turned around to follow his line of sight only to deadpan. _They shouldn't look that shocked._ Each one of her teammates, spare Kuroko who only looked mildly surprised, wore expressions of pure awe. _It's like they've seen the reckoning or something._

"Imamura…" Hyuuga coughed, trying to disguise his once over by pushing at the bridge of his glasses, "Is this your— boyfriend?"

Several of her teammates mouthed a version of his question in bewilderment, "Our manager has a boyfriend?"

Hana opened her mouth to reply, only to be beaten to it by Kuroko, "That's Uoya-kun. He was one of her old teammates during our Teiko years."

"…" Kagami gave the shorter player a side eye, "You know him?"

"We're acquaintances," Kuroko gracefully ignored the way Uoya choked before stepping through the throng of people and to the door, "It's good to see you, Uoya-kun, but we need to get ready."

Patting at Hana's head, Uoya shrugged the dismissal off, "Yeah, I get it. I just came by to give Hana—"

"Can I stay out here?" Hana cut the younger teen off, giving Riko a pleading look, "I need to talk to him real quick, I promise I won't take forever."

The coach narrowed her eyes, scanning Uoya in a way Hana viewed much too protective. _Maybe Riko can be my bodyguard?_ After seemingly lightyears, Riko finally nodded, "That's fine. Try to hurry though, I'll need your opinion on what to do with Aomine-kun."

"Got it," Hana tried to project how thankful she was through the curve of her smile. Judging from Riko's surprised blink, she nailed it. As her teammates filed through the door, Hana tugged on Uoya's hand. She didn't have to speak to get the message across.

He sighed, but moved with little complaint, "… you really don't have to pull me, you know?"

The last thing she heard from her teammates was Kagami's belated, "It's okay to leave her with him, right?" before the door shut behind them.

It took a moment, but eventually Hana pulled Uoya toward a secluded spot behind an empty enclave. In the safety of her best friend, her mind rejoined it's earlier racing. _What am I doing?_ She skittered to a stop and released her hold before turning to look at him square in the eye. Uoya blinked back at her, studying just as intently, before he raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright?" He ventured after a moment, "You look—"

"Frazzled? Stressed? Crazed to the seventh layer of hell?" It was too tempting to just joke the whole thing off and Hana snorted as she rubbed a hand over her face, "I think all of the above count."

His eyes narrowed at the action, "What happened?"

"It wasn't anything serious," Hana attempted to deflect, "I just needed some hugs. Let's hug it out—"

"Hana," unfortunately, Uoya wasn't having any of that and he dodged her advance, "I know that face."

She stalled to a stop. Trying to gather her infamous courage, Hana poked at the flooring with the toe of her sneaker, "How did we do it?"

Uoya stood a bit straighter, "Do what?"

"We faced people like this all the time. Tons of self-righteous assholes," she glowered, breaking eye contact as she ventured into the abyss of her emotions, "And it never stopped us, but now? Now, I'm— I'm exhausted."

"…" his eyes took a softer hue, "Exhausted? What do you mean?"

Hana tried to shrug the word off, but the action only succeeded in breaking the wall down, "What am I doing here? I mean— I'm just a manager. I'm not even up on Momoi's level— you know I tried to work on that? Last night with Kise, I'd hoped I could figure it all out— but I screwed up again and— I can't even get my information right—"

"Hana," Uoya grabbed her shoulders, "Breathe."

"Fuck," she rubbed at her eyes, attempting to get rid of the sting, "I'm just so fucking stressed. _Fuck._ Every step forward, I fall back ten more. I moved on. I didn't want to go through this— It's middle school all over again. I don't know what to do—"

There was a sharp tug on her hair and Hana looked up just in time to see Uoya's frown, "How long have you been holding that in?"

"Honestly?" a wet laugh escaped her throat, "Probably since middle school. It fucking _sucks._ "

A beat of tense silence passed. That little sharing session sure opened up her insecurities nice and wide. _Why does he have to be so easy to talk too?_ Hana mentally reviewed all the ways one could spontaneously combust, while Uoya turned an attractive shade of purple. The silence continued and Hana rubbed at her flushed cheeks.

"You're so— you," with a strangled groan, Uoya smacked her on the top of the head, "You're so you. You've always done this."

 _Well, that's not what I expected._ Hana huffed, attempting to hide the hurt through a mask of irritation, "Done what?"

"All this," Uoya motioned to the dressing rooms laying beyond them, "You forget it's just a game. We go to school and we play this game for _fun._ Don't get so worked up about it."

"I know, but—" _what about everything else?_ She did feel better though. Well, a bit. At least getting some of her troubles out lifted a weight from her chest. _Just take what you can get, worry about the rest later._ Taking a deep breath, Hana closed her eyes, "You're right."

Uoya scrunched his nose up, "I know what you're doing—"

"Yeah, and it's always worked before," Hana countered. Her arms still felt like lead and she rubbed at a bicep, "If I don't acknowledge it, it wasn't there."

"That's not how it works," Uoya deadpanned, "That's so unhealthy."

"It _works."_

Throwing his hands up, Uoya gave up, "Fine. It works. Just—" his expression faded into seriousness, "All that you just told me? It's crap, by the way. Just because you're having trouble now doesn't mean you don't matter."

"Awh, you're such a charmer," Hana tried to play the sincerity off, but Uoya narrowed his eyes and she quickly backtracked. The earlier smack was still fresh, "Fine, shit. So, I get that in theory, but it'll take a bit more practice for me to understand."

 _Hey, you get half points for attempting honesty._

"Hana," Uoya sighed, "Just be yourself, stop trying so hard. You did fine with us," a tired smirk tugged at the edges of his lips, "Mostly. Speaking of that, didn't your coach want you back soon?"

 _I don't want to go back yet._ Fatigue still rested along her spine, but Hana looked toward the door anyway, "Yeah, I'm just being slow."

Uoya shooed her forward, "Go. Be the awesome manager you are."

"Bah," Hana stuck her tongue out, pushing against his shoulder as she walked past. Stopping a few feet ahead, she turned around and gifted him a weary smile, "Thanks for that by the way," next she brought the coffee to her chest, "And a _damn_ big thanks for this."

"If you'd stop bottling everything up, you'd be fine," Uoya joked before crossing his hands behind his head as he watched her walk away, "But you're welcome. I'll meet you when the games over, alright?"

Her heart ached in nostalgia and a still tender mixture of defeat. Before vanishing into Seirin's dressing room, Hana allowed herself to smirk, "You bet your ass you will. Wouldn't have it any other way."

Uoya's smile faded as she darted into the open doorway. Emotionally exhausted, he ran a hand through his hair. From his position in the sidelines, he hadn't been expecting Hana to be so worked up about the whole situation, but he should have known better. Overzealousness came in multiple forms and his friend had the horrible talent of possessing them all.

"…" Uoya sighed as he began the journey back to his seat, "Now _I_ need coffee."

Leaning against the wall about twenty feet down, an overlooked figure narrowed their eyes before seeping back into the shadows.

x

* * *

 **Reviews!**

 **Uqor:** **Choo-choo, the train is coming to the station and the passive aggressiveness will** _ **never**_ **leave. I'm with you, it's just too much fun. Thanks for the reviews! Glad to gain you as a new reader!**

 **Seere Klein:** **Should I apologize for making you a shipping mess or is it a good thing? Hahah. I'm planning on romantic involvement with all, but the as for a formal relationship… I don't know. For now, I'm leaving that open ended on my part so I don't try to shove chemistry into somewhere it doesn't belong. Thank you for your review!**

 **030artastic** **: Wooooo! The first chapter of angst has arrived! I'm glad you liked last chapter, thank you! And Kitano will return soon, promises!**

 **LeoInuyuka:** **Now** _ **that**_ **would be a party. I laughed out loud though, so thank you for sharing that with me! It was great!**

 **The florist:** **I'm so happy. These type of reviews are the ones I love most. Especially when they sound as heartfelt as yours. They really make everything worth it and help me continue writing. Just reading everything you said made my day, thank you so much. I'm glad my work gained your approval and I hope I can continue to live up to your expectations. Thank you!**

 **Guest:** **Thank you! I looked into it! I'm not quite a fan of baseball, but I've definitely put it down on my to watch list!**

 **Jeya Mendoza** **: Hey friend! Yeah, swimsuits are no fun, eughk. I totally shoved personal bias in there haha. We will have some cute moments, promise! Angst is all well and good, but we need fluff to keep everything happy! Heheh… hope you liked Kise though. Glad to hear your support on Momoi's character! She's one of my favorite characters and I love that I can put her into a good light. Finally, yes, Aomine is a jackass but he does still care. You nailed it, man! Kise's date shall be soon… we got to get through the emotional upheaval of returning feelings before they embark on their adventure, but I hope the moment in this chapter satisfied you a bit? Too game is totally devastating. I got lost in Hana's headspace and I almost cried. It sucked. Anyway, thank you for the review! BYE FRIEND.**

 **Crystalviolet24:** **It was intense… totally got more intense so I'm sorry ahha. He is kind of difficult to write right now because I keep wanting to add that soft layer underneath, but I know Hana hasn't redeemed herself to him yet so augh. Feel free to ship Kagami, I don't promise romantic development, but I'm sure there's tension under the surface! I'm glad you like his moments though and Momoi's! Awwwwh, I'm so happy that you like how I'm incorporating Hana. It does always worry me when I add too much new stuff, so hearing things like that is great. I'm ranting, so I'ma stop now, but I could go on and on, so thank you!**

 **ArchimedesAckermann:** **I'M SORRY THAT I PUT MORE ANGST ON YOU. Thank you though! I'm happy I've got the emotional part down, it's always a big worry! So again, thank you so much for your lovely review!**

 **Yogarasu108:** **I'm sorry you can't choose! I want to say it'll get better… but probably not hahaha. I just love romantic tension. There will be multiple endings with singular people for sure, so I can promise that! Thank you for your review and your support!**

 **Frizzlechicken:** **I love you. Can I just say that again? I love you. Your reviews are great and so in depth, I can't stop reading them over and over again. Your support for the story and for myself is amazing, so thank you. Onto the review! Yeah, Kagami is great to write. I feel like the two just kind of sort another out and their scenes come so easily! And on Momoi, THANK YOU. I wasn't sure people would enjoy how I altered her, but she never got much time in the anime and I thought she deserved better. Aomine is… interesting. He's like Hana is a lot of ways and it makes all their confrontations interesting to write. I also think he's a softie inside so that's fun too hahha. Anyway, thank you a million times over for your reviews!**

 **CrystalVixen93:** **Thank you!**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuch:** **You outed my plan for future Kagami and Nūdoru interactions ;D but yeah, that will definitely happen! Yeah, I feel like Aomine is upset too and that's a bit hard to write sometimes. It's easy to forget that even though Hana is the one the story focused on, she wasn't the only one upset. Anyway, thank you for sticking around! Your reviews are great!**

 **ADDBaby:** **I MISSED YOU. YOU'RE BACK! Yeaaah, scheming flower. Too bad all that lack of sleep caught up with her. Fuck aomine club represeeent. BTW I SANG THAT SONG FOR TWENTY FOUR HOURS SO I HOPE YOUR HAPPY.**

 **Guest:** **Thank you, thank you, thank you! Awwwh, I'm so happy to hear that you love Hana. I'm also super pumped you think the KNB characters are in character! Like SUPER pumped. Best compliment ever because they are so hard to get right hahah. THANK YOU!**

 **NotAnnie:** **Thank youuuuu! It's okay though, I'm fine with having all of you guys here to support me. As long as someone's reading and enjoying my work, I won't stop! Besides, you guys have already given me so much more support than I ever thought I'd get, so thank you so much!**

 **Sekai Kun** **: I'm sorry. Not really, because I love making everyone question their ships, but I will apologize again because I also love my readers. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Saltqueen:** **yaaaas. He is. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Xxjaelee:** **I don't know if Hana will cry, but man I almost did! I think you're right on Aomine, so that will be fun to see play out! Thank you for reviewing and for eagerly awaiting each update! It's great to have supportive readers like you!**

 **RockaRosalie:** **Thank you!**

 **Lady Hummingbird :** **Hello new reader! I'm glad to hear you enjoy the story and Hana! Thank you, thank you!**

 **Naliyu:** **Ahhh, you're welcome! But yes, if she steals wallets, there is no doubt Hana will steal clothing hahaha. Momoi's sneaky, but hey, vanilla lipgloss is my favorite so I may have been biased on that choice. Anyway, thank you so much for your review!**

 **Imbue Numinous** **: IM SORRY. I APOLOGIZE AGAIN FOR YOUR POOR HEART. IT WILL PROBABLY TAKE A WHILE TO END BECAUSE I KEEP WRITING MASSIVE CHAPTERS SO I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME FOR ANY FUTURE HEARTACHE. THANK YOU!**

 **Pinkdoughtnuts:** **Feels everywhere. So many feels. Thank you for that review, I love knowing that my story is good enough to read more than once!**


	33. Chapter 33

***slams head into desk* I rewrote this chapter like five times after it was already finished because I couldn't get it right. I'm so frustrated with it right now I could scream, but if I keep poking at it, I'll probably kill it. Now a final _thank you_ for all those wonderful reviews! They were all so long and thought out, I really enjoyed reading them!**

 **Finally... here's a chapter of mostly angst! Bon appetite!**

 **Warnings:** **bad language, thoughts of violence, and piss poor editing.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke**_

* * *

Tōō versus Seirin

The Ending

 _Fake it till you make it._

If Hana's life lately had a personal motto, she'd pick that.

While everything wasn't truly stable yet, at least Uoya's pep talk allowed her to look past herself. With those short minutes of comfort, he'd realigned her mind to focus on the game at hand. _I can do this._ Or, at best, she could fake it until she truly felt it. Because even though her heart still felt deadened with personal distress, she wouldn't allow it to overcome the duties she needed to fulfill today.

The insecurities that plagued her couldn't hold back the team.

Taking a final sip of her coffee and poking her head into the dressing room, Hana caught the edge of the conversation. From what she could tell, they were already in the process of planning their next move.

"Your misdirection won't work throughout a whole game," Hyuuga's voice came from the middle of the assembled teammates.

 _We're taking Kuroko out?_ Pushing the door open all the way, Hana slunk inside. Green eyes moved over the tense forms of all the players and a troubled grimace crawled across her cheeks. _But we'll need him…_ She couldn't imagine the difficulty they'd face without Kuroko's specialty. Already, her façade of ease began to diminish.

"Hey, uhm," Hana coughed into her fist to gain their attention, "What'd I miss here?"

"We're subbing Kuroko-kun out for the second-half," Riko tilted her head toward the manager, "His effectiveness is wearing off—"

Sitting on the bleacher, Kuroko interrupted the growing conversation, "I can do it."

 _No. Without misdirection, Kuroko won't hold up to any of Tōō's members._ Hana watched the boy in question. _He does need to sit out, but—_

"I will do anything to beat Aomine-kun," Kuroko's voice sliced through the air, focus spreading over his features like armor. _But he can't allow himself too._

"You'd have a better chance of beating him if you recovered," despite not being there for the full conversation, Hana got the gist of the situation and even she could tell Kuroko wasn't thinking clearly, "Aomine's an asshole, if you go in without being ready he'll destroy you."

"I understand your concerns," blue eyes turned toward her and Kuroko tilted his head, "But this is something I need to do, Imamura-san."

Hana's green eyes narrowed in return. _Stop being a hard ass._ Despite this, Kuroko didn't react to her unspoken warning. After a lifetime of staring at one another, Hana turned her attention back to the now fretting Riko. _I can't argue with his determination. Stupid manga protagonist syndrome._

"This isn't an easy choice," staring at her feet, Riko lifted her head to address the whole room, "With or without Kuroko we have a difficult match ahead of us."

Hana wasn't sure how to feel about that fact. It sounded as if Riko wasn't going to allow Kuroko's request, and while Hana didn't disagree, she did catch the edge of discontent that flickered over Kuroko's face. She wasn't the only one. Taking one massive step across the room, Kagami came to stand in front of the coach.

"Hey, coach," Hana blinked at Kagami's tone. He sounded much too relaxed about this whole thing, "Can I get one of those?"

Hana opened her mouth, "Get one of what—"

Lemon.

So much lemon. Hana wasn't sure where the box came from, but one second the air was empty and the next, Riko pulled out a container full of lemons. As the coach removed the top, Hana twisted her head to hide her disgust. _What'd she do to that poor fruit?_ One green eye peeked back at the monstrosity, _Why does Kagami need a damn lemon?_

She found out quickly enough.

"Sit on the bench and eat this," poor Kuroko hadn't been expecting Kagami to march toward him and promptly gag him with the sugar soaked fruit, "You're the one who said you can't play basketball by yourself! Leave it to us!"

She'd never seen a pep-talk through the use of fruit, and Hana had to say, she didn't really want to experience again. That lemon was way too thick for Kuroko's mouth and the way the shorter boy simply blinked up at Kagami wasn't helping matters. _Jesus,_ Hana brought her hand up to her head at the mental image, _you guys can't do this to me right now._

"You just…" she sighed, "You just shoved— can he even breath?"

Kagami spared Kuroko a glance before shrugging, "He's fine."

"What the hell? He—" Hana flapped her hand in exasperation, "There's a lemon— I give up."

 _Why is no one else worried?_ None of her teammates shared in the concern about Kuroko's air loss, which seemed mighty rude of them. Instead, they all radiated relief at Kagami's citrus inspired rant. _And they think I'm the strange one…_

Unfortunately, the lighthearted moment followed the pattern as the ones before it and the humor of the situation didn't linger. _I'm ready for this to be over with._ They still had a mountain they needed to scale and there wasn't enough time to be spent lollygagging. While Kuroko gently removed the lemon, a hush fell over the group.

"Okay, it's decided," Riko clapped her hands to bring order back. Her hazel eyes blazed, "We'll take Kuroko out for a little bit of the third quarter, but prepare to be put back in during the forth."

"What are we going to do about Aomine?" that was Fuduka, who's expression betrayed his worry, "Without Kuroko—"

"Kagami-kun is our best chance at standing up to him," Riko didn't waste as second as she launched into game plans, "Izuki-kun and Hyuuga-kun will continue with what they've been doing, Mitobe-kun and Tsuchida-kun will be under the hoop."

 _There are other assholes we've got to worry about._ Leaning against the door's siding, Hana voiced her concern "What about the other players? We've still got Momoi to worry about too."

"For now, our biggest threat is Aomine," closing her eyes, Riko appeared to think, "Izuki-kun and Hyuuga-kun will take care of mushroom number nine and number four. Now, are we ready?"

A full round of agreement came from the assembled players, "Yes!"

"Alright then," one hand propped on her waist, Riko threw her fist in the air, "Seirin, fight!"

The subsequent reply was all encompassing, " _Fight!"_

After a round of cheers, the Seirin team moved like tiny soldiers prepping for battle. Steps firm with resolution and eyes hard with focus, they moved as one toward the door. Stepping out of the way, Hana allowed them to pass through. A pang of apprehension flushed through her system, but she tried to force the sensation back into place.

She'd just have to believe in her team and trust Uoya's words.

It was all she had at the moment.

 _Stop being so damn pessimistic, you're going to give yourself a stroke._ Rubbing a hand over her face, Hana let out a sigh before moving from her position against the wall. She began to follow their steps out the door when Kuroko appeared beside her. She'd liked to think it said something about her mental state that she wasn't vocal about her surprise.

"I'm not sure Momoi-san will be able to predict anything with Aomine-kun on the court," peering at her from the corner of his eye, Kuroko answered her pervious question, "His movements are unpredictable."

"Understatement," despite the foreboding tone, Hana hummed, "Do you think he still plays in the same way? I've got nothing to compare him too other than the notes from Teiko."

"…" blinking, Kuroko lowered his gaze to the ground, "I believe he is much stronger than ever before."

 _Dammit._ Her shoulders fell, "I was worried you'd say that. It looked that way earlier, but I'd hoped—"

She trailed off. Sharing with Uoya was one thing, but opening herself up to Kuroko was a completely different ballfield. _He doesn't need my shit on top of his._ Acknowledging the change of pace, Kuroko looked toward her. Something in his gaze spoke of understanding and Hana released a tired breath. _I've always hated that soul-searching power._

Thankfully, they hadn't fallen far behind their teammates and Hana was able to avoid sharing. In only a few quick seconds, both Hana and Kuroko matched pace at the end of the group. With the press of game time sneaking back upon them, Hana's mind still worked in confusing circles and half-thought schemes until she finally forced her attention back into reality. The first thing she noticed was Kuroko's tension beside her.

Honestly, she'd never liked that. Something inside her flinched to see him in pain. _This new caring development, probably._ But the technicalities didn't matter in the face of reaction. Feeling a spontaneous resolve to fix the issue, Hana tugged on the back of his jersey as soon as they stepped through the gymnasium doors.

"Hey, Kuroko," hesitantly, Hana let go of his jersey. Even if she didn't have the natural ability to comfort, she could still share a hint of Uoya's words, "This is just a game, okay? It'll be alright—"

The words leaving her mouth pitched to a halt at the sight on Aomine at opposite side of the court. Fire rested in his veins and the expression on his face promised something more than defeat. The dark hue of his eyes scanned over the Seirin teammates before coming to rest on Hana and Kuroko's combined front.

When his blank façade rested solely on her, the knowledge in Aomine's expression made every nerve in her system freeze over.

"I apologize, Imamura-san," Kuroko's head turned in the same direction, eyes finding the target of her distress, "But I don't believe those words are true today."

xXxXxXx

It happened so suddenly, she wondered if this is how it felt to drown.

Grasping for a lifeline, yet the waves kept coming and your air fell short.

Innocently, a small part of Hana held onto the assumption that they'd be able to overcome this obstacle and destroy her doubts. _It's only a damn game._ But, Kuroko's parting still rung in her eardrums. _He's right. How can this just be a game?_ The subject of her thoughts satbeside her on the bench. Kuroko displayed the same rigidity, sharp eyes tracing the proceedings of the court with a quiet edge.

The reason for their discomfort lied in their old friend's actions. Since the start of third quarter, Aomine owned the court and _nothing_ could stop him. Every step the Seirin upperclassmen made was countered and every move Kagami pushed himself through rendered pointless. Yet, the smooth face of their opponent remained unaffected.

That didn't mean to say they'd stopped trying. Even in the face of such an opponent, Seirin didn't quit. As Hana turned her attention back to the rest of the players, Hyuuga moved forward to block Aomine's path to the hoop. _He's too freaking fast._ Though the move did little to stop the impossible, it did gift Kagami the chance to insert himself into the situation.

"Come on, Kagami," her words felt like a prayer and she leaned forward, bracing both hands against her knees. Hana's fellow bench mates echoed her sentiments, "Come on, come on."

Unlike his teammates, Kuroko remained unmoved.

Hana soon realized why. As Aomine jumped to shoot and Kagami followed, Hana's heart fell. Kagami jumped, _oh he jumped_ , but Aomine leaned just out of reach by contorting his body into a horizontal position before shooting the ball directly into the net. The swoosh of the net was audible in the shocked silence of the court _._ Out of the corner of her eye, Hana watched Kuroko's fist clench.

"How did he—" At the edge of the bench, Fuduka's mouth fell, "That shouldn't be possible."

Hana opened her mouth to explain, only for her thoughts to skitter to a halt.

 _I don't know the answer,_ the thought was accompanied by a low layer of panic. _Aomine's so damn different, I don't know how this person works._ Laying useless in her lap, the notes of Tōō stared innocently up at her and Hana blinked down at them. All of Aomine's information was laid out with compiled notes from their years of middle school, but everything was _wrong._

She'd fallen behind again.

 _I didn't think it'd be like this. Kuroko was right— he's too strong._

"Kagami-kun can't keep up," Riko hissed. Her gaze never left the show off between aces, "Aomine-kun is faster, even dribbling."

 _None of us can keep up._ Barely nodding, Hana's nails dug into her knees, "This is crazy."

The words accompanied another goal on Tōō's behalf while Kagami's elbow graced Aomine's abdomen. _Shit. Kagami…_ After the referee called the foul,Hana's foot jumped as she watched the teams line up on the free throw line, attention locked on Aomine's easy movements. _I don't trust him._ His presence loomed over the court before a slick smirk sliced his face as he addressed Kagami. Hana's nerves fluttered in caution.

"This is disappointing, but I shouldn't have expected much. The only one who can beat me is me," there was just enough power in Aomine's tone that it traveled to the benches, "You can't do this alone."

When he turned and prowled to the sidelines, Hana's breath locked. Aomine's gaze crawled over the seated players, scanning the freshmen and Koganei with little interest. When that dangerous stare finally landed on her and Kuroko, one lithe eyebrow rose in amusement, "What are you two doing? Come on out, Tetsu. Let's settle this."

"…" Riko's shoulders tensed at the direct challenge, "Kuroko-kun?"

Fingers shakily digging into her clipboard, Hana shot a look to Kuroko. Though his gaze remained shadowed, courage rested in his tone, "I've had enough time to rest. I'm going."

"Great, show me the power of the new light and shadow," Aomine's voice was scarcely more than a taunt. _I hate him like this._ A second later, something sick crawled up Hana's throat when he turned his attention fully onto her, eyebrow still quirked in question, "Don't tell me you're giving up already, Imamura?"

Her mind floundered. _Is that what it looks like?_

"Ha," forcing a sharp laugh, Hana tilted her head up to meet Aomine's stare, "Hate to crush your heart, but no, I'm not."

Aomine stared down at her before his upper lip curled into a smirk, "Really?"

"Really," she tried to smirk back, but it pulled a bit too tight, "I'm not giving up this time around."

Registering the undertone in the words, his eyes narrowed the softest hint of a fraction. Her eyebrow rose in defiance and eventually, he turned away from her challenge. Instead, Aomine's stare transferred to Kuroko before his mouth cracked into a pleased expression and he moved back to the court. Hana was left staring after his back.

What she'd give just to understand the thoughts that passed through his head.

 _When did he become such an ass?_ The conflict that replaced their former bond still hurt. It felt like a thousand ants digging into her skin. The fact that Aomine hadn't always been this cruel mockery stung far worse than she expected. _Not this…_ She removed her gaze from Aomine's jersey at the threat of emotion, cursing herself for the growing self-pity. _Stop this. Focus!_

Meanwhile, a time out was called and Kuroko transferred to the court.

A tension still clouded the area, but with Kuroko's appearance a little bit of light broke through the haze. _Come on guys._ Hana's leg continued its shaking even with the change, not feeling the least bit assured. Aomine's provoking still hung fresh in her ears and she couldn't get her mind to focus. _Come on, come on._

The game began anew, with Izuki taking lead possession of the ball though Imayoshi was hot on his heels. Cornered, Izuki's dribbling stalled out as he looked for an open pass, catching sight of Kuroko at just the last second. _You can do it._ As the ball landed in Kuroko's hands, Hana's own tightened into painful fists. Spinning, Kuroko built up a familiar momentum before slamming a foot into the ground and passing with all his might to Kagami.

Hands grasping the ball with a resounding _clap,_ Kagami raced down the court. His speed, normally unrivaled by the Seirin teammates, was no match for Aomine and the Tōō ace caught up in no time. The moment brought a quick sensation of terror, especially when Aomine merged into Kagami's space, but Kagami proved them wrong. Not even pausing, the redhead cracked a smirk before passing the ball to Hyuuga behind him.

When their captain made the shot, Hana let out a relieved sigh, "Kuroko sure added an edge, didn't he?"

"He did," Riko smiled as the freshmen erupted into cheers at the three-pointer, "He's changing the game."

Though she felt a tad better, Hana still flicked her gaze to the score board. The twenty-point difference didn't promise much, "I goddamn hope so."

xXxXxXx

That's the worst thing about hope.

The way it tricks you.

How it hints toward the impossible, promising that everything will be okay. You cling to the last shred you have and _pray._ It promises an incredible outcome and it's so tempting, you almost believe it. On the bench, Hana watched the proceedings and lowered her head as the last thread of hope she owned snapped.

The whole game had played out as a limbo between defeat and success, leaving everyone on the edge of their seats. But, as she was quickly realizing, they'd been foolish for even thinking they stood a chance.

With a new sense of power, Aomine overtook the court and dodged past Seirin's players. Izuki, Hyuuga, Mitobe, even Kagami and Kuroko were passed by with the simplest of ease. The pattern repeated and repeated, yet no one held up to Aomine's blinding flame. To be simple, all out destruction was the nicest way to put it. Then, the unthinkable happened again and Riko called Kagami to the bench.

Due to strain on both injured legs, Kagami was forced to sit out again, but unlike last time there was no chance of return.

Seconds later, Kagami didn't speak when he slammed his body down, only the bleacher shaking signaled his anger. Scooting down, Hana gifted their ace a wary look. _He's like a ticking time bomb._ The way rage rolled off his shoulders and the trembling of his limbs contributed to an intimidating effect, the towel cloaking his face not helping the matter much.

"Kagami," Hana leaned around Koganei who separated them, "You seriously kicked ass."

Her tone echoed with the upmost honesty and Hana wasn't sure she'd ever used this attitude with Kagami before. Despite this, their ace didn't respond to her encouragement. Only his shoulders tightened before his head lowered further, hiding his gaze in the coverage of the towel.

 _He's pissed,_ Hana realized with the change of body language, _he can't do anything either..._ That was the last thought she allowed herself to have before turning back to the game. Despite the familiarity she felt with his plight, she couldn't do anything about his temper now. _I can't do anything at all._

As she returned her attention to her teammates, Hana's eyes lingered on the scoreboard, 93 to 53 _,_ and the pinch of hopelessness she felt was hastily stubbed out. _Come on, I said I wasn't giving up._

With only five minutes left in the game, every eye remained locked on the battling miracles. Since Kagami was forced out, the game remained repulsively one-sided. Despite the difference in skill, nothing Aomine did made Kuroko stop, and even as he was outclassed time and time again, Kuroko pressed onward. Following Kuroko's example, the upperclassmen faired in the same manner and ignored the sweat that soaked through their uniform in favor of continuing.

Then Aomine spoke, the new quality of his voice sending slick revulsion over Hana's spine.

"That was quick," at the half court line, Aomine's drawl echoed over the arena, "Your special pass didn't work, you're out of stamina, even your lights gone. Now, you're worse than the average player," Aomine paused as his eyes scanned the court. The miniscule moment they lingered on Hana felt far too long, "I win."

Yet, even with the pressure, Aomine's conceit wouldn't be met with silence.

"It's not over yet, the possibility of winning is only at 0% when all players give up," without pause, Kuroko's head lowered and the fringe of his bangs shaded his gaze, "I refuse to be that 0%. That is why I won't give up!"

 _You little shit,_ Hana's mouth ticked up in objection to her thoughts, _you're absolutely crazy._ If there's one thing Hana loved about Kuroko, it was his dedication. He may not be the best player around, but he had enough heart to overtake them all. _He doesn't need a stupid light to shine._

"Go, Kuroko! You tell that asshole!" The rush that pulled her to her feet startled even herself, "Don't listen to his bullshit!"

 _Tell him he's wrong! Tell him they're all wrong!_ If there was one person in the world who could get through Aomine's thick ass skull, Hana knew it was Kuroko. Momoi came in a close second, but the only person who understood the in-and-outs of Aomine's personality came in the form of their favorite ghost. _That's where Kuroko wins._

Furihata jolted at the scream, "Imamura-san?"

Beside him, Kawahara barely caught himself from falling off the edge of the bleacher. Even Riko shot Hana a surprised look before a pleased smile tilted the edges of her lip. On the court, Kuroko turned toward the sidelines along with Aomine. Catching his attention, Hana realized the expression on Tōō's ace couldn't be properly defined by any dictionary she owned.

Of course, Aomine wasn't the only one who held an opinion on her outburst.

"Imamura…" under the hoop, Hyuuga's expression twitched, "Hey, the rest of you! Show some more spirit!"

"…" _Really?_ Hana's voice hadn't meant to travel, but judging by her captain's glare, it did, "Thank you for ignoring my contribution. It means a lot."

Pushing the bridge of his glasses up, Hyuuga annoyance morphed into a threatening smile, "Don't make shitty contributions then."

 _I nominate Mitobe for captain. How's that for contribution?_ While Hana gifted Hyuuga her most potent scowl, Koganei's arm latched around her shoulder and he leaned forward to address the freshmen, "You heard him, scream until the games over. If the guys on court haven't given up, we can't either!"

"…" the freshmen exchanged terrified looks, heads rotating between themselves and the newly recharged game. There was a collective breath before they finally broke out into cheers, "Go defense! Defense!"

The noise rattled the bench and echoed through the court. Even the audience's chatter was deafened by the way Seirin moved together to encourage their own. _We won't give up._ At the head of the bench, Hana swore Riko's mouth moved with the movements of her own chant. _We won't give up!_

"Go defense!" Joining the growing momentum, Hana cupped her mouth and screamed, "Rip their damn heads off!"

"Uhm," The arm around her shoulder quickly abated. She only had a moment of confusion before Koganei's hands made a slashing motion, "Not like that, Imamura-chan."

 _It's more effective, but whatever._ She gave him a look, but altered her statement accordingly, "Go defense!" Hana scrunched her nose in consideration, "Destroy them!"

"Let's just stick with the first one…" Koganei's pulled a sheepish expression, "Your cheering could use some work."

x

In the end, life would be too lenient if determination could change fate.

Despite their screaming, despite the team's willpower, despite it all, things didn't improve with simple pleading. In real life, the underdog cannot always win. Aomine scored and scored again, his teammates copying the pattern with their own success. Seirin blocked and charged, but the players on court slowly lost stamina.

Minutes clicked down in mockeries of hours, dragging out the inevitable until the very end. Unlike the beginning of the game, there was nothing left in their dreams of success. The points grew higher and higher while the became observers more despondent than ever. Hope was teasing and faithless, urging them on before crushing them with its escape.

In her own corner of the universe, Hana couldn't watch anymore. _I've never felt this shitty._ Only thirty seconds remained and she forced her gaze away from the final blow. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she buried her head in the self-made cocoon and waited for the final buzzer to sound. _After everything…_ It just hadn't been enough.

"112 to 54," Furihata's voice dipped in shock, "Our score… they doubled it."

Closing her eyes, Riko gave a somber nod as the players lined up for goodbyes, "We were outclassed. Aomine-kun…"

"He's unstoppable," Hana finished. _I thought we stood a chance._ She didn't quite raise her head, but she turned enough to meet Riko's eye, "I knew it would be hard— but I didn't expect this bullshit—"

"No one expected this," the coach crossed her arms over her chest, "There's nothing we could have done."

At that statement, Kagami made a rumbling sound before pushing himself to his feet. The force of the moment forced the bleacher to wiggle. Eyeing the players, Kagami's eyes narrowed before he turned and began to stomp toward the exit door. His movements waited for no one. _Kagami?_ Hana trailed her gaze after his back. _What the hell are you thinking?_

She didn't get an answer to the unspoken question. There wasn't enough time to ponder before their team assembled together. Only a second was spent in the shared sense of defeat until they were moving toward the exit as a silent congregation. Taking up the rear again, Hana tilted her head over her shoulder in one last glance at the Tōō team.

Like before, pink eyes met her own and the other girl took a step forward as she broke away from her own teammates.

"Ima-chan?" Momoi looked lost, begging for something that Hana wasn't sure she could give right now, "Thank you for playing us."

"Momoi," Hana's departure stalled out and she turned her whole attention to the rival manager, "You did great today. Thank you."

She wouldn't belittle her friend to satisfy her hurt conscious. _I'm not that big of a dick._ Every word out of Hana's mouth rang with truth despite the sting she felt at their delivery. Momoi's eyes widened, and if Hana wasn't seeing things, she'd swear she saw the shine of tears. _Don't make me do this._ Forcing a smile for the sake of things, Hana raised her hand in goodbye.

Of course, in her life, things could never be that easy. Hana wasn't sure when Aomine creeped up next to his manager, but his voice snagged her attention, "Imamura."

"Aomine," Hana traded her expression for neutrality when she turned toward him. _I can't do this._ Biting hard into her lip, clarity returned with the pain, "My team's waiting."

His eyes narrowed, hinting that something in his thoughts begged to be released, but Hana didn't want to deal with this. It took all her energy to wear the mask she wore now and the combined force of Momoi and Aomine would surely crack it into pieces. Beside Aomine, Momoi froze as she looked between her two friends, hoping to put sense into their confrontation.

"Nothing to say?" judging from the sudden furrow of his brows, those words hadn't been what he'd intended, "That's a first."

 _Isn't it?_ The blank expression she wore cracked a bit and a sour smile pulled up Hana's lips, "Wouldn't complain if I were you."

Thankfully, he didn't respond even as his mouth morphed into a sharp line. She hadn't expected him too, but Aomine never seemed to follow her beliefs. _When do they ever?_ Tracing her gaze over the duo one last time, Hana nodded before following the path her team took to the exit. A burning sensation traveled down her spine.

She knew they watched her exit, but for once, she didn't really care.

A few minutes later and safely back in the familiar locker room, Hana forced her shoulders to relax. _This stress is killing me._ Her left hand rubbed a halfhearted circle against the tense muscle of her back at the thought. Around her, Seirin's players were in similar states of recollection. A stagnant air filled the area as they recovered from the defeat that laid at their feet.

"Dammit," Kagami's fist smashed into a locker, jolting everyone from their thoughts, " _Dammit!"_

 _Stop it._ Hana slammed her eyes closed at the noise, flinching away in surprise. _Don't do this right now._ Most of the team echoed her sentiments and several annoyed looks were gifted in Kagami's direction. The redhead didn't care, his rage too strong to be tamed now.

"We've got two more games!" Riko's whistle blew out in the relative silence of the room, "We don't have time to be sad!"

Despite the warning, it did little good. No one seemed able to look past their recent failure and Kagami's fist clenched threateningly against the locker. Lowering her head, Hana slid her hand across the clipboard to distract herself. _Two more games…_ The recent loss felt heavy on her chest, reminding her that she really couldn't handle the pace she'd believed. _I don't know if I can handle any of this shit._

As team members filed out one by one, Hana didn't move from her spot leaning against the lower lockers. _Don't think about it._ Placing her head between her knees, green eyes slid shut and a few calming breaths escaped her mouth. They didn't do much good, but it was the thought that counted in this situation. _It'll all be in the past soon._ The door shut again before a stillness overtook the dressing room.

"Hey," Kagami's address forced Hana's eyes open. The slight divergence in his usual determination brought on a flash of forewarning, "I thought we could do this longer, but look at us."

 _No, he wouldn't—_ Snapping into awareness, Hana looked between the looming redhead and the target of his words, the shorter player remained silent, Hana's attention shot back to Kagami. A chest clenching worry overtook her, "Kagami."

"…" Kagami barely spared her a glance before turning his attention back to Kuroko, "I don't think we can win just by working together anymore."

 _He can't just give up!_ Hana crawled to her knees, mouth open in pure horror. _After everything?_ The finality in Kagami's tone sunk into her bones and she let out a raspy reply, "How can you say that? We worked so damn hard—"

Dull, red eyes locked onto her, "What good did that do us?"

"Don't— Don't be an idiot," Hana's chest heaved as she fought for understanding, "We got this far."

"You're the manager, Imamura," despite her plea, Kagami's back was already turning and his palm pressed against the dressing room door, "You wouldn't get it."

"Kagami!" her voice picked up pitch, "You can't just—"

The door swung open and only Kagami's parting words remained, "It's over, Imamura."

 _How? How the hell can it be over?_ Her mouth gaped in a wordless plea as Hana stared after Kagami's back. _He can't just—_ Her fingers twitched against the dressing room floor. Heart beating in a staccato, Hana eased herself back to the floor. _He just gave up…_ The panting breaths of air that escaped her lips felt too close to sobs for comfort.

In the oppressive silence, Hana's mouth opened, "Kuroko?"

For a moment, nothing changed. The air remained electric from Kagami's words and Kuroko's shoulders were still hunched. Clenching her fist, Hana peered toward him in an attempt to check on her friend. She'd only begun to stand before his voice halted her.

"If it's not a problem, Imamura-san," Kuroko's gaze didn't leave the closed locker in front of him, "I'd like to be alone right now."

"Oh," she froze at the blank dismissal before gingerly standing up, "Okay— I'll just… leave?"

 _Even Kuroko's given up._ Her lips cracked in a self-mocking smile, tugging at the sore flesh she'd worked over during the game _._ At his continued silence, something cold traveled through her, but Hana refused to acknowledge the sudden pressure that wanted to be freed or the way her heart creaked in warning.

Instead, she turned and softly stepped through the door.

 _It really is over._

xXxXxXx

Humidity hung in the air when she got outside, promising rain for the evening.

Her feet moved like lead chains, dragging down the sidewalk. A niggling thought echoed in the back of her mind, but her body felt too numb to acknowledge it. Though, it wasn't just her mind. Everything felt off and she didn't quite understand the sensation. At least not in the respect it was used today. It was just… empty, almost hollow.

The street lights brightened the dour atmosphere, guiding the fellow passersby that surrounded her. Hana noticed them offhandedly. Only enough to avoid them while she continued her walk through the masses. As the strangers faded into a dull mirage of colors, Hana brought a hand up to rub against her neck, trying to rid the sudden chill that overtook her senses.

She wanted to think, but thoughts just weren't coming coherently. Every idea she tried to grasp faded into a sheen of haze, leaving her back at nothing. So, instead, she moved toward the base of the closest streetlight and laid against the cool metal. It wasn't planned, but with exhaustion overtaking all aspects of her control, green eyes closed.

Even in the shelter of her own mind, time didn't seem to move nor did it stop.

Everything remained in a constant state of flux as Hana tried to sort emotions into coherency and pain into indifference.

"Hana—" she wasn't sure how much time had passed before she heard it, "Hana?"

Hana cracked one green eye open. Like earlier, the sight of her best friend made her mask of apathy falter and everything she'd hidden sprinted toward the surface, "Uoya."

He stood a couple feet in front of her and his expression defined the term concerned. For a moment, Uoya seemed at a loss of what to do, "Are you—"

"No," her voice cracked a bit, "Not really."

"Do you want—"

"If you're going to say talk about it," a wet lump lodged itself in the back of her throat, "Definitely not."

A long sigh came from Uoya's direction. Recognizing the sound as dissatisfaction, Hana slammed her eyes shut as he replied, "Do you want a hug?"

Her eyelids squeezed together so hard it almost hurt. Her lower lip trembled in warning, but Hana wouldn't allow any other noise to escape, "Please."

"Come here," Uoya's voice lowered in gentle sympathy. It was the voice you'd use in the face of a child and Hana hated it, but she couldn't deny the potency. When she didn't move, he tried again, "Hana?"

Why did comfort have to be so tempting?Though it took a moment for her to recollect herself, and like the marionette of a poorly skilled puppeteer, Hana eventually wobbled toward him. When she was finally close enough, the sockets of her joints failed and Hana collapsed into her friends hold, her arms locking around his neck like a living life-line.

"Hey," Uoya tentatively touched the top of her head, "It's alright."

She knew that. Even with her face buried in the shirt of her closest friend, she knew that. Even as her eyes stung with unforgiving pressure, she knew that. In terms of rationality, she understood that this moment was barely a blimp on her life's map. That didn't make the pain any less or the situation any different.

"I guess so," Hana eventually allowed.

"It is," he assured, his hands pushing through the tangle of her hair, "It's just a game."

 _Maybe for me,_ Hana thought about the expressions worn after their defeat, _but not for everyone else. It's so much more to them._ She didn't voice the thought, instead reluctantly agreeing, "I know."

"Everything will work out."

"I know."

Never ceasing his petting, Uoya fell quiet and Hana allowed herself to soak in his familiarity. She really was a touchy-feely person and it'd been much too long since she'd indulged in the action. Uoya's voice broke through her silence after a few minutes of thought, "Can I tell a joke?"

"…" she huffed a tired breath into his shoulder, "Sure."

"When you said you'd cry all over me," Uoya attempted to laugh, but Hana caught the edge of his stiffness, "I didn't think you'd follow through."

A cricket chirped in the distance.

Pressing closer into his hold, Hana released a wet snort. _His timing is such shit._ It had been a long time since she'd been on the receiving end of such untimely commentary and the results were… refreshing. _Is this how people feel when I do it?_ In the relative comfort of her friend, her snort turned into an untimely guffaw before Hana finally laughed. Dry and husky, her voice cut across the budding evening.

"Woah— woah," Uoya's hands fluttered around at the surprise noise, "That wasn't supposed to make you cry more! Hana?!"

 _You sweet child._ Her hysterical laughter picked up pace, "I'm not crying."

If anything, Uoya looked more concerned, "Are you sure? Because I'm feeling a wetness—"

"Idiot," Hana poked him in the shoulder when her laughter finally evened out. The empty feeling from before seemed to have abated, but the promise of true reaction still laid in the distance, "I'm not. I'm just— feeling shitty."

"…" Uoya shuffled, "Want me to do anything—"

Oh, she did. She really freaking did. She wanted him to change _everything_ she'd done today, from waking up to going to school, because Hana had never wanted to experience this type of emotional fallout again.

But, instead she commanded, "Hug me again."

"Uhm. Alright, but Hana—"

"Don't care if it's healthy. Hug."

There was a sigh, but two long arms wrapped around her waist without further comment. Heat seeped into her chilled flesh and Hana buried her nose into the column of Uoya's throat. There wasn't any way she could vocally express her gratitude without letting lose the tears that hovered on the surface. In replace of words, she just huddled closer.

It could have been minutes or hours before Uoya spoke, "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Positive," Hana replied immediately, "There's nothing to say."

Still worried about his friend, Uoya made a strangled noise as he attempted to find words, "Erhm—I mean— it might help? Not that I'm pressuring or anything."

"I can't do it right now," her head shook, "At this point, it'll just make me feel worse."

Judging from his hesitant hum, Hana would bet Uoya looked confused as all hell. She couldn't blame him. Her own thought process confused her too. After a pause, he made another considering sound, "… uhm, you want ice cream? It's what we used to do."

Hana's nose scrunched, "Depends. Are you buying?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then yes."

xXxXxXx

She wished the solution was that easy, but the inevitable could only be stalled for so long.

Two hours and a stomach full of ice cream later, Hana shut the front door behind her. Her house was painted in darkness and, head still in a fog, she blinked at the realization that her father hadn't come home yet. The knowledge forced the repressed state of her emotions to let out a little ping and her hand limply fell from the doorknob, the mixture of loneliness and grief turning into a toxic combination.

"Nūdoru?" Hana's voice echoed in the stillness of her home, "Where are you?"

In any other situation, the barrage of noise at his arrival would have brought a smile to her face. It was okay though, because Nūdoru's own doggy grin made up for the lack of her own. Tail wagging, teeth flashing, and ears perked, her dog stumbled over the slick wooden floors before ramming into her hip. Hana's throat tightened at the familiar welcome.

As shaky hands reached for his face, she slid down and wrapped him into a hug, "Sorry, I'm late. It's been a long day…"

Head tilted in question, Nūdoru's excitement stalled when his owner's voice hitched. Licking his tongue back into his panting maw, Nūdoru pushed his face into Hana's neck with a chuff. His confusion only grew when trembling fingers threaded through his fur and his owner laid her forehead against his own.

Now whining, Nūdoru nosed at her again, causing the fingers to tighten their grip.

A salty smell filled the air and he licked, following the scent down his owner's cheek.

x

* * *

x

In fairy-tales, the hero bounces back right away.

Maybe through a timely adventure or a good word from a friend, they succeed in defeating the darkness around them. The sadness only lasts as long as they let it and they never let anything keep them down. But there was a difference in this fairy-tale, because Hana was learning she wasn't the hero in this story and she didn't have the ironclad resolution needed to bounce back.

The defeat at the hands of Tōō paved the way for more failure. Even as her team stood strong against their final two opponents, they didn't win. Loss after loss, all games concluded in the same repetitiveness of destruction and defeat. It was goddamn _tiring_.

It was the day after the Tōō game, their match against Senshinkan High finally over with, and now everyone stood in the dressing room, packing their belongings in silence. Sitting on the floor next to the door, Hana stared at the notes in her lap. _Another failure._ Again, her help had proven fruitless and the former insecurities raised their ugly head. Cracking an ugly smile, her thumb traced the edges of the clipboard.

Being useless was a new sensation. Maybe that was a harsh way to put it, but—

She wasn't helping.

In the beginning, Hana assumed that her short-comings in the last game were due to Momoi's influence and she thought she'd get past it, but the hypothesis slowly proved naïve. Despite the notes she'd accumulated on Meisei and Senshinkan, Hana didn't have enough skill to give them the edge they needed to get through the games. It was a hard pill to swallow.

"I'm going to head out," Hana removed her notes and clenched them in her fist, "I'll see you guys at school."

Pausing from her observation of the dressing room, Riko frowned at her tone, "Are you sure, Imamura-chan?"

Hana's fist tightened, "Yeah."

There just… wasn't anything else to say. Words seemed to fail her time and time again, so she'd been unnaturally quiet around her teammates since the game against Tōō, unwilling to open herself up in case she faced another bout of rejection. _I'm not going through that shit again._ At the thought, her eyes flicked over to the silent duo of Kagami and Kuroko.

"If you want to…" the coach scarcely finished speaking before Hana was on her feet. Another frown pulled at Riko's lips as she watched, "You did a good job today."

 _Did I?_ Hana's movements stalled at the praise she didn't earn, "Alright."

Too lost in her own thoughts, she didn't see Riko's confusion at the lacking response or Kuroko's head lifting. Instead, Hana's feet led her to the door, only stopping to drop the now balled up notes into the trash. She expected the action to be lifting, the weight of failure finally off her chest.

Yet, the feeling that occurred displayed the contrary. For a moment, Hana stared at the papers lining the edges of the trashcan. _This—_

A tepid hand grabbed the doorknob before Hana shoved it open and stalked out.

 _This isn't okay._

xXxXxXx

Sometimes the hero falls; that's a fact of life.

But, _dammit_ , the universe sure wasn't letting her fall without giving her a hell of a hard time about it.

The days since their last game had been miserable at best and with the still growing conflict between Kagami and Kuroko, nothing seemed possible. There wasn't anything left to cling too. She was so tired and though Hana said she wouldn't give up—

It looked quite tempting.

The pain of Aomine's change, the failure at standing up to Momoi's skill, the words from Kagami, _everything_ kept repeating and repeating. The edge of total defeat laid just at the edge of her mind and Hana was oh so tempted to grab it. After all they'd been through this last week, she really had no desire to continue fighting.

Unfortunately, her friends seemed to have a built-in angst detector.

That would be the only explanation to why Kitano and Uoya showed up at her house that Saturday morning. After spending the rest of her week in a state of unease, Hana had planned to use the weekend as a time to recollect herself and fix the cracks in her heart. At first, their appearance hadn't bothered her too much and Hana allowed herself to be soothed by their comforting words.

But, when Kitano tossed her a pair of his old gym shorts after her rant finally ended, Hana began to realize things just wouldn't progress easily.

No, they had to get _ideas_ and _make plans_.

If she wanted to understand the mechanical movements behind basketball enough to predict them, she'd need to play the game. _A lot._ To be fair, she understood the concept they tried to concoct. The trouble came with the fact that, by going to the court today, she'd be playing literal strangers. Something which didn't seem to bother her friends. Oh no, if anything that just added more fuel to the fire. _If this is how they feel when I involve them in my plans, I apologize and beg for the highest level of forgiveness._

"This isn't what I had in mind," Hana deadpanned, using her hand to block the burning rays of the morning's sun. Being dragged out of her house wasn't a new experience, but the lack of coffee and the pure exhaustion in her system didn't help improve her already atrocious mood, "Why couldn't we just have a movie day or something?"

"This is for your own good, Hana-chan," Uoya urged, pressing his palm against her shoulder in encouragement, "You need to get over this, it's not healthy."

She shot him a halfhearted glower, "If you say this isn't healthy one more damn time— I'll revolt."

"Oh, shut up," Kitano brought a hand up to stifle his yawn, "This was your idea."

 _My idea involved blankets and dog cuddles, not this crap._ Stomping behind him, Hana scoffed, "… that's complete bullshit and you damn well know it _._ "

"Technically, Hana-chan," at the rear end of their little grouping, Uoya inputted, "You did say you wanted to become a better manager—"

"I didn't expect the process to _kill_ me," Hana snarled. This conversation had been repeated the entire journey to the basketball courts, "I get how a player's perspective could help, but this is just ridiculous."

Stalking down the sun-washed sidewalk, Kitano snorted, "Stop being so dramatic. You're the one that wanted to learn how to predict movements, you can't do that without playing."

"See, but my life is in the balance here," she refuted "These guys are probably like— miles taller than me. They'll murder me."

Stepping over a stray piece of litter, Uoya coughed, "Uhm, if you're uncomfortable, we could always play you—"

"Nope," finally reaching the corner they needed to turn down, Kitano smirked over his shoulder, "She won't learn anything with us going easy on her."

 _You're not getting this!_ Hana threw her arms up, "I won't learn anything from being dead, either!"

This is what she gets for sharing her insecurities. Now here she was, being thrown to the sharks and just hoping she knew how to swim. _I don't work that way though!_

"Oh my _god_ ," Kitano flung his head back with the whine, "They aren't going to kill you— I know them."

Her thoughts moved to Kitano's new teammates, making that statement null and void. Twitchy fingers clenched as Hana held back the urge to murder, " _That doesn't comfort me_ _at all!"_

"Guys— Guys," Uoya stepped forward between the bickering pair. Arms raised placidly, he glanced between them, "Let's calm down— Hana-chan, don't worry. You know we'd never do anything to hurt you."

"Bullshit," despite the deadpanned response, Hana didn't mean the words to be as cutting as they came across. So, she sighed, "Look, I know, but I just don't get what you guys are expecting out of this."

"You're going to cheer the hell up for one," Kitano's steps slowed, eyes narrowing on the basketball courts up ahead, "You're acting like a zombie and not the cool kind Iseri likes."

 _Now who's overreacting?_ Huffing, Hana turned her head to glare at her other friend, "I'm not being a zombie—"

"Yeah," Kitano and Uoya spoke as one, "You are."

"I'm _not,_ " she defended as she took the few steps forward to stand by Kitano's side. Following his line of sight, her eyebrow raised suspiciously. The public basketball court was despairingly empty and not a soul stood in sight, "Whatever. Hey, I thought you said we were meeting people."

"We're supposed to," Kitano pulled a frown, fiddling with his phone, "Where the hell are they?"

Humming uncertainly, Uoya shrugged, "Maybe they got held up?"

Foot tapping, Hana looked away from her friends piddling. _Your planning skills continue to astound me._ If they were going to make her walk endlessly to the court on the other side of town, she damn well was going to use it. _I didn't want to meet strangers anyway._ Looking left then right, Hana waited for the cars to pass before crossing the road toward the chain-linked gate.

"Wait— Hana!" Uoya's voice called after her back, but Hana was already stepping into the fenced area, "Please don't scream!"

Her steps faltered to a halt. _The hell?_ Horrified, Hana shouted in return, "Why would I scream?! You said you wouldn't—"

The voice that interrupted her ceased all bodily functions. _Oh my god…_

"I'd assume that would be because of us," the bushes that separated the edge of the court from the one beyond it parted and a familiar figure stepped through. Despite the lack of a smile, the tone was warm, "Hello, Imamura-san."

"… Hey, manager-san," the bush the first figure passed through flung back to hit the encroaching second figure in the face, "Futabatei— you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"I didn't," straightening to full height, Futabatei's brow furrowed at the other's comment, "Where are Kajiwara-san and Iseri-san?"

Finally free of the cast that had followed him through most of middle school, Saiki whispered something under his breath as he rubbed his head, "I'm not sure. Kajiwara wanted something to eat—"

 _All of them?_ She couldn't breathe. Shock didn't amount to the emotion she felt now. _They all…_ A strange mixture of happiness and disbelief flooded through her system, rendering all response impossible. Hana clenched her fists while green eyes shot between the two figures. The longer she looked, the more the doubt of the situation faded. _You guys… you didn't._

"Hold up," Hana couldn't take any more and her voice cracked. Something close to tears clung to her eyelashes, "Are… are you all here?"

The metal gate clanged as Uoya and Kitano finally made their way inside. Coughing sheepishly, Uoya answered, "I may have called everyone—"

"Oi," Kitano interrupted, "I helped too."

"… sure," merely raising a brow, Uoya took a step away from the bald boy before finishing his earlier statement, "You've been really weird since we last talked and… I guess I was worried. I hope you're not mad, Hana-chan."

Hana didn't know what to do. Her stupor wouldn't fade instead stretching into full-fledged wonder as she stood there. _He… he really did all this?_ When Hana looked at the sincerity resting in Uoya's gaze, the numbness that haunted her body since the game with Tōō abruptly lifted and a warm heat flushed over her skin. _He did all this for me?_

"You—" Hana swallowed, wildly flicking her stare between all the assembled boys, "How?"

Not understanding the significance, Kitano stared at her, "Phones?"

"No, how did you know?" Hana reiterated, mouth still hanging open in pure astonishment, "Like— _how?_ "

 _How did they know this is what I needed?_

"Uhm," shrugging, Uoya looked to the other boys for help, "I'm not sure. It just felt like the right thing to do. Everyone else agreed."

"…" her eyes slid shut at the emotion that statement brought on. _Jesus Christ._ Everything just felt too perfect, "I'm about to hug the shit out of you."

As expected, Kitano threw his hand's up, "I helped too—"

"I know," she shook her head in incredulity, still not trusting this to be reality, "I'm about to hug the shit out of _all_ of you _."_

She started with Kitano, simply to appease his pouting. Launching across the court pavement, Hana's arms wrapped around his neck in a choke-hold, pulling the taller boy down to her level so she could twist her arms completely around his body. _I love you, you crazy asshole._ A wild laugh escaped at his noise of surprise. _I love you._

"Aghk," Kitano coughed when Hana suddenly released her hold, "Hana!"

She ignored his complaint by spinning away from him, instead turning her gaze onto the suddenly wary Saiki. Raising both hands, the elder boy attempted to step away, but Hana was already jumping toward him. _It's been so long._ Unlike Kitano's full body hug, Hana simply choose the gentle route and hugged Saiki around his muscled waist. _I've missed you guys so much._

"Ahhh," decidedly awkward, Saiki patted at her back, "It's alright, manager-san."

 _He's still doing that?_ Hana took a step back to look him in the eye and fondly berate him, "You know, I'm not your manager anymore. Do you even still play basketball?"

"I stopped playing when I began high school," Saiki smiled while shaking his head in denial, "So, in a way, you'll always be my manager."

 _That was… surprisingly kind of him._ Her eyebrow quirked in amusement, "You can be sweet. I'm surprised."

"It'd be rude of me to act otherwise," mouth curling into a grin, Saiki looked down at her, "You've grown up quite well—"

"Anddd, that's enough of that," Uoya stepped in front of the older teen, elbow jolting into Saiki's side with the movement. Placing a shit-eating smile on his own face, Uoya opened his arms for the next hug, "You've been hugging a lot, you know?"

Momentarily startled, she blinked. _What was that about?_ She tried to tilt her head around Uoya's body to see Saiki, but Uoya simply moved in time with her. _Stupid boys._ Defeated, Hana gifted Uoya her best deadpan, "I was going to hug you last. You've gotten a shit ton lately."

"But I wanted my hug now," pouting for dramatic effect, Uoya made a grabbing motion with his hands, "Please?"

"… I'm sensing an ulterior motive, but okay," she moved toward him, repeating her movements from the two boys prior. Resting her head on his shoulder, Hana laughed, "Seriously though, thanks, Kazuhiro."

"Woah— woah," hands floundering, Uoya pulled back, "You've never called me by my first name before!"

Hana stepped away from his hold with a smirk pulling at the edges of her lips, "And it won't happen again, little man."

"Oh, come on," Uoya groaned, "You can't do that!"

"I can and I will," she didn't turn to address him, instead laying her focus on her old captain. Futabatei remained as intimidating as she remembered. His black hair laid across his forehead in a no-nonsense way and the only bodily change he'd experienced was the new growth of muscle along his shoulders. _This is so damn familiar, it's amazing._

Smirk still in place, Hana raised an eyebrow, "Want a hug, captain?"

"Not particularly," unmoved by her challenge, Futabatei stared back at her, "Though I'll allow it."

"I feel like that was your way of saying, yes, I'd love a hug," she didn't rush toward him. Knowing Futabatei honestly disliked physical contact, Hana took slow steps until she stood right in front of him, "I've missed you guys, you know?"

When Futabatei didn't receive the hug he'd been expecting, he reached out and placed a giant palm on top Hana's head, "We've missed you too, Imamura-san. It's been a long time."

"It has," Hana grinned and her former captain's hand fell away, "How have you been? Are you still playing basketball?"

With a nod, Futabatei responded, "I've been well and I am still playing. I don't intend to stop."

"Good," Hana began to step back toward Uoya, satisfied with her former captain's achievements, "You love playing, I'd hate to see you quit."

Gaze sharpening, Futabatei watched Hana with an intensity she hadn't been prepared for, "The same goes to you, Imamura-san. Don't let loss destroy the things you care for."

"…" her shoulders locked in defense, but instead of allowing the rebuttal to pass her lips, Hana took a deep breath. _You've got to move on._ Eventually, she let out a weary chuckle, "You see right through all my bullshit, don't you? But, I know. I'm guessing Uoya told you about our games?"

While Uoya choked out a denial, Futabatei nodded, "He did."

 _Who said girls were the gossipers?_ In all her life, Hana never met a girl who gossiped as much as her own teammates. It reminded her of the old women at the hair salon, chittering on about the latest scandal. While normally, it annoyed her to pieces, she couldn't fault them this time. The moment was simply too perfect.

"Well, that's freaking great," Hana rubbed a hand down her face, chuckles slowly dying out, "I get what you're implying, things are just a lot harder now then what I'm used to."

 _But,_ Hana looked to the edge of the court as a familiar head of black hair appeared at the entrance, _I have a feeling they're about to get so much better._

"Which is why you've been brought here," the gate opened again and Iseri's familiar voice rung out through the silence, "We're going to help you."

 _Uhm…_ Hana blinked at him, "That sounded ominous as hell."

"Yes, well," Iseri hummed as he began the journey toward them, "Your attempts at helping us wouldn't be described as pleasant either."

Eh, she couldn't disagree there. _I bet that's about to bite me in the ass._ Judging from Kitano's suddenly enlightened expression, it was going to do more than bite her in the ass. Her old training schedule was going to be the cause of her _demise_.

"Hey, kid—" another voice spoke from the entrance, shoving the metal gate out of the way as they stomped toward Iseri, "I'm older than you! You can't just walk off with my stuff."

 _Kajiwara…_ Hana transferred her stare onto the older teenager. Like Futabatei, Kajiwara's appearance hadn't altered either. He looked to be a bit taller and his long blonde hair grown out even farther, but other than that, he remained as he'd left them. _It's like they never left._

"I apologize, Kajiwara-kun," Iseri neatly sidestepped the grabby hands that reached for the basketball in his grasp, "You tend to take too long and I didn't have the patience to wait for you."

Flush overtaking his skin, Kajiwara grasped for the ball again, "I had to pay the cashier."

"We were going to the same location," Iseri's eyebrow twitched with each effort to avoid the upperclassman, "You're overreacting."

 _Oh my god._ Hana's smile slowly morphed into a full out grin, the strength of it making her cheeks tingle from the tightness. While the rest of her former teammates watched the struggle with various levels of irritation, Hana let out a booming laugh. _I can't replace this._ Subsequently startled, all the former second-string players turned their attention to her. _This is perfect._

"Hell, you guys haven't changed," wiping at the joyful tears building up in her eyes, Hana motioned to the ball in Iseri's hands, "But, come on, I thought we were going to play? Isn't that why we came out here?"

Conversation skittered out. The older boys, Kajiwara and Saiki, looked momentarily thrown off by Hana's assertion. _That's right,_ Hana smirked. _Back in Teiko,_ _I would have been screaming my ass off by now._ Unlike their counterparts, the younger boys seemed to gain another dose of liveliness from her statement. _Oh, how the tables have turned._

"Imamura-san's right," in prefect synchrony to the past, Futabatei stepped forward to take control of the situation, "We came out here for a reason and it isn't time to get distracted. Kajiwara, you'll be the mediator for the first game."

He pointed to Iseri, Saiki, and Kitano next, "You three are on team one," then he motioned to the remaining people, "Imamura-san, you and Uoya-san will be on team two along with myself."

"Got it, captain," Hana saluted him, acknowledging his orders before dragging Uoya toward the half court line, "You get to do tip-off, Futabatai's center and I'll just, you know, run around and do what I can."

"… I hate doing tip off," Uoya sulked, but he didn't move from his spot, "Hey, Hana-chan, remember to focus on their faces. We're doing this for you—"

"I know," she smiled, taking a deep breath as her chest clenched in happiness, "Thank you."

Nudging her with his shoulder, Uoya beamed, "You're welcome. This is great, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Hana laughed, ruffling her friend's hair, "It's perfect."

X

Three games later, everyone sat on the ground in a semi-circle of sweaty limbs. There hadn't been any breaks and no one deemed it necessary to keep the pace easy. Most of the boys remained in good shape, but Iseri and Saiki, both no longer playing basketball, were breathing harder than normal and the sweat trickled off them in waves instead of drips.

Then there was Hana. Sprawled out on her stomach, she panted into the ground. While the boys were only short of breath, Hana herself was short of _life._ All the drills she'd pushed them through in middle school suddenly seemed cruel and she had half a mind to apologize. _Maybe when I can move again. Make some cupcakes or some shit._

"So," Uoya rubbed a hand over his sweaty brow, "Did you learn anything new?"

 _Ugh, I don't want to think._ Despite that, Hana nodded, "A bit actually. I think I've got most of the basics down. I've still got a lot of shit to learn though."

"Really?" Kitano scoffed, climbing to his feet and marching after the rouge basketball, "Show me."

"You glance at your feet before you charge," Hana droned as her eyes fell shut, "You like to copy Michael Jordan and stick your tongue out when you shoot, that's stupid by the way, and you always look the opposite direction before you pass—"

"Yep, that's enough," the sound of dribbling occurred before Kitano grumbled, "That's so creepy. Why would you do that?"

She sighed, "… that's _literally_ what you asked me to do, dumbass."

"Don't do it to me then," Kitano rebuked, shooting the ball before finishing his reply, "Do it to someone else. Maybe Iseri—"

Without pause, the said boy spoke, "No thank you."

"Fine," Hana offered before the two boys could get into another romantic tension fueled fight. Those little spats were the worse, "For helping me out, you've escaped my creepy stalking powers."

Despite the insurance, Kitano shot her a sour look, "Somehow, I doubt that."

 _Well, never let it be said you're an idiot,_ relaxing against the pavement, a miniscule snort escaped her nose. _Glad you've learned something in that thick ass head of yours._

"You're all so loud," Kajiwara sighed, throwing his arm over his face, "Were they always this loud, Saiki?"

"Nope," with a snort, the other boy added his own input, "It seems their vocal chords have grown with age."

Futabatei's eyes remained shut from where he rested against the fence, "Do _not_ start another argument."

Other than an untimely chuckle, silence reined. Only the occasional heavy pant filled the air and Hana wondered if the boys were basking in the same glow of memories Hana was. Everything was just so… amazing. Hana didn't have the vocabulary to describe it.

Even as they sat together and the lack of sleep crept into their bones, nothing could ruin the velvety atmosphere they'd created. It felt like home.

"Sooo…" with a drawn-out hum, Uoya broke the hush, "Anyone up for lunch?"

When no replied, Hana raised her hand, "I vote for ice cream."

xXxXxXx

At four o'clock that afternoon, the lock on the front door clicked open and Imamura senior stepped into his house.

He'd left the bakery early for the night, leaving it in the command of the kitchen staff, so he could pick up dinner for the evening. Hana did always prefer the sloppy burgers to his own cooking. Shucking his shoes off in the doorway, his eyebrows rose at the silence of the house and the lack of mess in the living room.

The greasy paper bag crunched in his hand as he walked toward the steps, "Hana? I brought food!"

When his daughter didn't reply, he marched toward her room, assuming she'd forgotten to remove her headphones again. Yet, his steps slowed. This wasn't the atmosphere he'd anticipated. The hallway lights were off and the door to her room remained open a crack, though no light shone through. A touch of worry creeped up his spine.

"…" he softly pushed the door open, "Hana?"

 _Oh._ Whiskered lips pulled up in a gentle smile as his eyes landed on the pile.

Taking up the entirety of the bed, with only a nest of blankets surrounding them, Hana sprawled out in all directions while Nūdoru laid out identically on top of her. Both were fast asleep and a rumbling snore echoed from someone's mouth. Taking a step back, he shut the door as gently as he could.

Relieved grin still quirking his expression, he retraced his steps back to the kitchen.

X

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 **Reviews! (So many long reviewssss~ so much happinessss~)**

ADDbaby: I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother! My heart goes out to you. If I could hug you through the computer, I would. You and Hana sound like you'd be good buds though. Go try to find a Hana to spice up your life! While I may not have been able to give Hana some good coffee this chapter, but I think we got everything else down! And dude, bless you too. Thank you for your amazing and humorous reviews and for sticking with this story even with everything going on around you. Thank you!

NotAnnie: I'm GLAD YOU LIKED ALL THIS STUFF. MY HEART IS HAPPY THANK YOU. Like woah, a lot did happen last chapter, sorry this one is kind of slow in comparison opps, but we've got more fun stuff coming maaan. BUT THANK YOU. I LOVE REVIEWS LIKE THIS. I can practically feel the emotion and it's great!

FrizzleChicken: I loveeee you. I just want to sing your praises to the mountain tops. Thank you so much for your thoughts on Hana, it really brings me a ton of joy to have people enjoy her. Sorry I've kind of put her through an emotional ride lately, but she's got a lot to sort out in that head before I can make relationships healthy. SPEAKING OF RELATIONSHIPS. Thankyouuu, I love knowing I got the GoM in character. They're all so different, but your words have given me so much encouragement! And finally, have some more Uoya— dudes making a comeback haha. THANK YOU!

030Artastic: Nap time arrives! Uoya is pretty great, I love writing him. Sorry about the angst last chapter and again, sorry because it only got worse this chapter… opps. Anyway, thank you for review! I love theeem!

Saltqueen: Thank you! Speaking of passing out, I'd bet it had something to do with the crazy amount of coffee she drinks ahah.

JeyaMendoza: Hey friend! Please don't cry! At the same time though, I'm kind of honored because I love bringing emotion into the story— but don't cry for real! Yeah, her dad is a nice dad, I like him hahah. But her mom lives in Arizona just in case you were wondering… you know America… where Kagami goes… possible hint? Maybe? Yeah, I think Hana could work up to Momoi's level, it'll just take a really really long time, but it needs to happen. I don't think any of the GoM would want to be with someone who couldn't stand on the same pedestal as them, especially Akashi, but that might just be me. Ahhhh, I could go on and on about your review so I'm finally just gonna end it here with a big fat thank you. I love how in depth you go and it makes my day being able to read it over and over again! Thank you, friend!

TamashinoSuzume: I'm sorry, don't tear up! But I will follow your unsubtle hint! I hadn't thought about bringing him before, but since you brought it up I've got tons of ideas. Thank you for your thoughts on Hana, I really enjoy hearing compliments like that, I'm smiling so big about all that wonderful commentary. And yeah, the intimidation thing squicks me out too. That's probably why this is such a slow burn story because it takes a while to iron out all that mess. It didn't come off as rude at all, thank you!

Crystalviolet24: Two reviews it fine! In fact it's great, don't worry! I'm so happy everyone loves Uoya, it's awesome! Hehehe… have some other 2nd string team members! Here's a ton! Yeah, it really is about freaking time they admit their feelings. It's been driving me crazy so I can't imagine how readers feel! Yeah, we finally got to the Aomine angst this chapter… my bad man. I'm sorry! Yes, momoi deserves more props! And yes, these big games are really hard to write. So, hearing you say how good it was really makes me happy, thank you! THANK YOU SO MUCH. You leave such great reviews, I can't get enough.

OneWhoReadsTooMuch: I'm glad you liked her father and the angst moment! Last chapter had a lot of moments in it, but this chapter really did focus on the aftermath… I apologize and thank you for your review! It was so long and detailed, thank you!

Red Raspberries: _Thank you!_ That was wonderful praise and ahhh, thank you, thank you! I really enjoyed the last chapter too and it was hard to bring this one up to its standards. I hope you find this one just as good!

Imbue-Numinous: IM SORRY. I APOLOGIZE FOR PUTTING THIS ON YOU. BUT THE CHAPTERS WILL STAY NICE AND FAT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEW WHKFJSFLJLFKDJ

amgs: First off, sorry not sorry about the shippings. ;D I love doing this to people, it's my guiltly pleasure haha. Secondly, they really do need to hug it out. We got lots of hugs here, but Hana's not the only angst snot right now. Oh dude, Akashi is going to be _fuuuun._ I'm excited. So excited. Finally, I love Uoya too! He's awesome and fun to write! (Fun fact: I almost shucked Uoya off right before highschool by having him move to America). Thank you for this wonderful review! The long ones like this are amazing and I can't believe I have readers willing to take out part of their day to do them! And yessss, My Hero Academia! Thank you!

Naliyu: Hmmm. Any idea on the shadow person yet? I don't want to come out and say it, but I did try to imply? I may have missed the mark completely haha. Thank you for your review! And yes, if I get the time, I will definitely make an omake!

Xxjaelee: Yay, screams of happiness! Dude, it really was a heartbreaking game. I rewatched it to write this and wowza, it was intense. Kise and Midorima feels for the win! Ohhh, who do you think the guy is? Do you think it's Aomine now? Finally thank you for your wonderful review!

NinjaPenguinLover: I love Uoya too. He's great. I never want him to leave. Who do you think the shadowy person was? Did I hint enough? And thank you for the compliment on my writing, awhh! And another thank you for leaving a review! Seriously, thanks!

Uqor: Don't ugly cry friend ): things will be okayyy. Dude, Uoya is the bomb. I love his rivalry with Midorima too and I'm so damn excited for that backstory to come out hahah. Was it Aomine? I don't knowwww~ probably lmao. BUT I'M SORRY IF I WRECKED YOUR FEELS. Angst is hard ): anyway, thank you for another review! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

TheParadoxicalOxymoron: I didn't know what you were referencing at first so I went and looked it up, I totally got a giggle and I couldn't stop imagining it! It was great. But I'll be sure to dance in the dead bodies of my enemies, since that has to be the best advice I've gotten all year so thank you! As for story length… I wanted to go to vorpal swords and finish it with maybe a chapter or two of future, but it depends on if you guys want to read it. I've got the ending for the main story thought up already, so I know it'll go that far. And yes, I'm trying to get back into writing more! This one gave me some trouble, so I'm sorry if I totally bombed that haha. Anyway, thank you for another review!


	34. Chapter 34

**It's been awhile! (University kidnapped me) So, hi guys! Anyway, just want to pop in and say thank you for all this tremendous support. With readers like your guys, I don't think I'll ever get tired of writing!**

 **Warnings : bad language (3 effers), threats of violence, anddd terrible ( _terrible)_ editing.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke**_

* * *

The Aftermath

After much consideration, Hana divided her life into three separate problems.

Currently, she was working on problem number one.

Herself.

With the help of her friends, the first step to reclaiming her past attitude was done after she'd pulled herself out of the pity-party she'd managed to fall into. Now it was time for the good stuff. _This is what I goddamn deserve._ Twenty-four hours after her friend's departure, steam filled the bathroom as Hana relaxed deeper into the bathtub. From the facet, bubbles built into a tall, strawberry scented heap, covering her from head to toe. _This is the life, man._

Barely skimming the surface of the water, her right hand held her phone and mindlessly scrolled through an assortment of online videos. Since leaving her friends yesterday afternoon, Hana had been hit with a revelation. A come to Jesus moment, if you'd prefer. One second she'd been sleeping and the next she'd been throwing the covers off with her enlightenment. Because yesterday had been _awesome._

To be frank, Hana couldn't really remember the last time she actually _liked_ basketball the way she had then.

After coming to Seirin, she'd lost track of what really mattered and being the manager became a struggle. It wasn't supposed to be that way, but with the Miracles popping up every damn second and drama coming from each direction, Hana had pushed herself to work harder just to stand up to them. She stopped looking at the big picture and began hyper focusing on the little details, things she couldn't even control.

And well, that needed to stop. Like _now._

Honestly, it was a shame she was only learning this lesson now. _Middle school wouldn't have been such a bitch._ Basketball wasn't life or death, it was a hobby. Something meant to be enjoyed, and damnit, she wouldn't ruin the only constant she'd had in her life just because everyone else was being a sour ass.

The video on her tiny phone screen changed, pulling up an interview with an American basketball player. Wiggling her toes in the soapy water, Hana's lips curled into a smile. _This_ is what she enjoyed. Learning, planning, scheming, all of the above and more _. This_ is what she never wanted to lose, the drive for information and the courage to keep pushing forward.

Now, she just needed to find a way for everything to work together. Somehow, she needed to combine her interests into the rest of her life, _without_ allowing herself to get overwhelmed again. She needed a balance. The easy answer was simply setting a schedule, but that didn't sound nearly as entertaining as the other ideas floating around her cortex.

And, if there was anything Hana learned from her oldest friends, it was that she'd really missed having fun.

"Well," she reclined into the water and clicked the next video, "Let's do this shit."

Head sitting on the rim of the bathtub, Nūdoru snorted.

 _Rude._ Hana flicked some bubbles in his direction, "Don't be an ass. I feed you."

x

* * *

x

With the first step of her three-step plan in progress, it was time to tackle the second issue of her life.

Her team.

As a manager, her teammates were supposed to be a priority. Maybe she'd slacked behind a bit on the whole taking care of them thing, but she was going to resolve that little problem. After the shit they'd gone through last week, the Seirin players weren't quite up to their normal functioning levels. Hell, even Hana herself couldn't remember the details of their last practice due to her own troubles. They all deserved a _goddamn_ break.

So, with a skip to her step, Hana made her way to the gymnasium the next Monday afternoon. In her arms, she carried a slightly smushed box of cupcakes. _Sugar solves everything, right?_ She hoped so. Hana would be a bit pissed if no one appreciated the effort she'd gone through to bake these diabetic devils _. I don't care if they taste like shit, they better eat every single one of these._

Five minutes and a short walk later, Hana arrived and pushed the large metal door open with her hip, "Hellllooo?"

It took a second, but eventually someone replied to her yodeling.

"Imamura-chan?" Riko was the only one there and she'd already changed into her practice attire. When the coach met Hana's gaze, there was a surprising amount of relief in there, "You're here early, is everything okay?"

"Absolutely spectacular," Hana chirped as she stepped inside. Okay was an understatement. At this point, the only thing that could bring her down was probably an alien invasion, "I've awakened. My true form is coming to light and I'm ready to take on the whole damn world. Like a… butterfly or something."

The coach paused, "… what?"

"Yeah, that was a little dramatic, wasn't it?" a flush crawled over her cheeks, but Hana paid it no mind as she showed Riko the cupcakes, "I just meant I'm ready to get back to business. See, business cupcakes."

The following silence became suffocating, but Hana continued to grin awkwardly. _Please do not continue this conversation—_

"Not to be rude," Riko stalled, gaze flickering from the cupcakes and to Hana respectfully. The relief in her earlier tone faded into something wary, "But the last time I saw you, you weren't quite this… happy?"

 _And the conversation is sadly… continued._ She'd admit the coach had a point though. The last week had been filled with tense silences, nervous glances, and stepping on eggshells. Not only had Hana worried about her own temper, she'd been overly careful in minding everyone else's and it all meshed into something uncomfortable. _Definitely not happy_.

"I guess so," Hana admitted after a moment, "Tōō really kicked my ass."

Watching the manager, Riko made a concerned noise, "What changed?"

 _A whole lot._ Hana walked toward the stage at the back of the gym and put the cupcakes down before turning her attention back to Riko, "I had some help and well…" her grin became genuine as she repeated Futabatei's words, "I'm not going to give up on the thing I love just because losing hurts like hell."

And wasn't that something? But, _seriously_ , she was damn tired of losing stuff. It was like a never-ending cycle. She'd lost her mentor, the friendship with the Generation of Assholes, and she'd even lost contact with her mother of all things. So, in the face of a couple shitty games, Hana would rather take those odds than losing grip on the other important things in her life.

"Really?" following after Hana, Riko's lips quirked into a smile, "I'm glad to hear it. We were all a bit worried after you skipped last practice."

"…" _Wait, back up and let's go over that again._ Hana's bright attitude flattered, "I skipped last practice?"

"Yeah, on Friday—" Riko's smile fell at Hana's continued lack of understanding before a small tick blossomed on her forehead. The coach made a nifty imitation of a snarl, "Did you even know we had practice?"

"I came on Thursday," she wasn't sure the facial expression she wore, but the painful furrow between Hana's brows lent itself to confusion, "I thought that was the last one?"

 _No… I'm sure. I wouldn't forget something like that._ Due to her shitty mood from last week, she couldn't really remember what happened… but Hana was almost _positive_ that had been the last one—

Riko deadpanned, "No."

 _Shit._

"Well, that puts a damper on things, _"_ leaning against the wooden stage, Hana rubbed a hand over her now aching temple. Apparently, the loss had effected more than just her attitude, "What a bitch. Did I miss anything important?"

"Other than _practice,"_ breaking her scowl, Riko appeared to think for a second, "Teppei is coming back today—"

 _Wait, wait, wait!_ Green eyes widened into dramatic portions and Hana tried to recall what'd happened at Thursday's practice. _I hope I'm not losing my mind— that would suck ass._ She remembered one itsy-bitty little mention of the forgotten upperclassmen, but other than that… na-da.

"He's coming back? Today?" Hana repeated Riko's admission with an added level of exasperation, "Why does no one tell me these things? Why didn't _he_ tell me? Since when was this a thing?"

Eyebrow raising dubiously, Riko countered, "Well, if you came to practice."

 _Huh, that's a fair point_. Didn't make things much better, but it was a fair point.

"Touché," Hana moaned, "I don't have to run laps, do I?"

"For now, no," Riko allowed. Crossing her arms over her chest, Riko moved her gaze out to the empty basketball court, "We really were worried. You'd been acting strange all week and when you didn't show up, I'd assumed the worst."

 _The worst?_ That sounded a tad too solemn for an after-school conversation. So, with a smirk, Hana joked to hide the strange feeling in her chest, "That I got abducted by a cult? Don't worry, you're in my will—"

"That you quit," the coach's voice was quiet and Riko didn't turn toward her with the admission, "I know the games have been rough on everyone and it's going to take a while to build morale up. I could use your help."

 _Well, that went from zero to a hundred real quick._ She understood where Riko's concerns came from, but Hana's expression still pinched, "Hate to tell you, but I'm not much good with the helping thing. Why haven't people realized this yet?"

"Teppei would say differently," Riko glanced toward her, small smile gracing her face. _I hate that smile_. She liked it even less when Riko continued, "You may not be the most tactful person, but you know how to get what you want."

 _How kind, coach._ Hana snorted at the implication, "Was that an insult? It sounded like an insult."

"It wasn't," Riko shook her head while her expression remained thoughtful, "Your methods are a bit manipulative, but you know how to get people to understand you. Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun…"

"Everyone needs to hug it out," the gym door opened and Hana watched Hyuuga walk in. Knowing their conversation was about to be cut short, Hana nudged Riko in the shoulder, "Trust me, it works wonders."

Riko hummed as she straightened up, "I'll leave it to you then."

"Yeah, no," denying the accusation, Hana followed Riko's steps to the center of the court, "Come on, coach! I'm shit with the emotional things. Like _absolute_ shit—"

Hana's sentence was untimely interrupted when Hyuuga laid his eyes on her. _I swear they have this planned._ It took a moment to register, but when it did, the flash of his glasses was Hana's only warning. _Shit, shit, shit._ Beside her, Riko made an amused noise and took the few steps needed to safety. _Well, there goes backup._

"Imamura!" Hyuuga's finger was suddenly pointed in her direction. When Hana shot Riko a pleading look, the coach simply smiled before pretending Hana ceased to exist, "Where have you been!?"

 _Oh, dear._ Hana took a step back toward the stage, "Uhm, I thought we had Friday off?"

"…" Hyuuga's brow twitched as he continued his advance, "You're just as bad as Kagami."

 _No! It isn't true!_ Holding a hand to her heart, Hana took another step back with her retort, "Don't compare me to him! I actually came most of last week!"

Still stomping toward her, Hyuuga's glower grew behind the sheen of his glasses, "What is with you shitty underclassmen and excuses? Show some respect!"

"It was _one_ day!" Hana countered, "It wasn't even on purpose!"

"You still skipped!"

"On accident! Woah— _chill_! I brought cupcakes!"

"I don't want a cupcake—"

"That's not true," reaching behind her, Hana retrieved the cupcakes with a shaky smile. Flipping the lid up, she showcased the little basketballs she'd, _oh_ _so lovingly_ , painted on, "How can you not want one of these beauties?"

 _Come on. Take the bribe._ The captain's eyes narrowed on her face before slowly falling to the cupcakes. A beat of silence passed, when finally, Hyuuga pushed at the bridge of his glasses and looked away, "… shitty brat _."_

Hana forced herself not to cackle in victory when he took a cupcake.

A long fifteen minutes later, the whole team was assembled. _Even our guest star, Kagami!_ The redhead managed to sneak in at the last possible second, looking all things aside, like he never left. That extra week of downtime he'd taken sure didn't change much. The only unusual aspect about him was the potent layer of aggressiveness that still hung about.

Sitting on her perch at the edge of the stage, Hana kicked her legs out as she watched the group chatter, her gaze lingering a bit too long on Kuroko and Kagami. The shorter player caught her eyes at the motion and a moment of anticipation passed through them until Hana turned away. The movement stung in her chest, but she wasn't sure she had the balls to speak to them today.

It'd be a shame for her newfound happiness to get stubbed out so quickly.

 _I'll deal with their drama later._ Hana decided as she nibbled on her third cupcake. Despite the lingering tension between her two friends, a fast building excitement crawled upon her. After all the drama since the Shutoku match, Hana hadn't been able to visit Kiyoshi the way she once had. _I'm such a shitty person._ Now, with him finally returning, she was hoping to restore some of their comradery.

Or at least snag some more fruit cups.

So, when the long-awaited newcomer stepped through the door, Hana wasn't quite sure why she was so surprised. Actually, scratch that, she knew why. Because Kiyoshi Teppei was another _goddamn giant._ After only seeing him in a hospital bed for who knows how long, Hana forgot that the older boy even had legs. It sounded terrible, but it's _true._

"Guys," Riko called as she stepped toward the new player. When she gained everyone's attention, she motioned to Kiyoshi with a proud smile, "This is Kiyoshi Teppei."

It took another moment for Kiyoshi's attire to be noticed. The upperclassman was dressed in his former Seirin uniform and when Hyuuga saw, it didn't take long for him to call him out on it. _Captain's a little exuberant today._ The thought was registered indifferently, Hana still not over the shock of the new height difference.

"You're tall again," Hana grumbled as she jumped off the stage. When she stood in front of Kiyoshi, she blinked up at him, "I don't like it. Go back to being my level."

Two fuzzy eyebrows quirked and Kiyoshi's turned down to her, "Imamura? It's been a long time."

"I know. My bad," bringing her hand up to scrub at the back of her neck, Hana coughed, "I meant to visit you more— but well, yeah. Shit happened."

A massive hand fell on her head and Hana jolted. The action reminded her a bit too strongly of Futabatei's. Ignoring her flinch, Kiyoshi cracked a grin, "Don't apologize. I'm just glad to see you in one piece."

She opened her mouth to reply to his teasing, only to be beaten to it by Kawahara, "They're so familiar… but if Kiyoshi-san is an upperclassman, how does Imamura-san know him?"

That seemed to be the question of the year, as even Kagami displayed a bit of curiosity at the answer. _It's really not that interesting._ With a huff, Hana pouted when all the upperclassmen exchanged fond looks. Eventually, it was Riko who broke the silence, "We actually met Imamura-chan last year, during one of our tournaments."

"Met?" Hyuuga snorted in the background, crossing his arms over his chest, "More like she broke into his hospital room and never left."

 _Oh, bullshit._ Hana straightened, "I resent that."

"She brought something every visit," Izuki added, exchanging a look with Mitobe at the memory. They both disregarded Hana's glower, "There were a lot of very strange cupcakes…"

"Hey, come on! I didn't visit that much. Besides, why are you complaining?" Hana retorted as she threw her hands up, "You guys loved those cupcakes."

Ignoring the last comment, Hyuuga raised a brow, "You came twice every week."

"I needed something to do back then. Visiting was a lot more fun than sitting on my ass," she steadily avoided looking in Kuroko's direction. Hana could feel his eyes bleeding into her skin, and by god, it was not a pleasant feeling, "Kiyoshi didn't mind."

"That's true," Kiyoshi made an appraising sound before Hyuuga could reply, "Well, I could have done without you stealing my fruit cups."

 _You're not getting an apology._ Hana shrugged the accusation off, "Those things were heavenly. Speaking of that, did you bring one?"

"They didn't let me take any home. Sorry," with a laugh, Kiyoshi patted her head before removing his hand. With one large step back, his attention went to the rest of the Seirin teammates, mainly the underclassmen, "As you know, I'm Kiyoshi Teppei and I'm risking three years of consecutive wins by coming back here, so I hope you guys don't let me down. Now— when's Inter-high?"

The noise level dropped dramatically. After a second, Izuki's face fell as he answered, "We already lost."

Kiyoshi blinked, "What about the Winter Cup?"

Hyuuga's brow ticked, "In the _winter._ "

"Huh," Kiyoshi rubbed at his chin, "Where is it this year?"

" _Tokyo!"_ while the rest of the team exploded into a barrage of disbelief, Hana took a step back, "It's always in Tokyo!"

 _And this is where I tune out._ Giving Kiyoshi one last fond look, Hana turned on her heel to head back to the stage's edge. _I've claimed my new territory._ What she hadn't been expecting was for Kuroko to suddenly appear in her line of sight, centimeters away from her path forward. _What's a better wake up call than a damn heart attack?_

"Imamura-san," blue eyes scanned over Hana's shell-shocked features before Kuroko inclined his head, "Are you alright? I didn't see you at our last practice."

 _That was… unexpected._ Hana blinked, "Uhm, yeah. My brain was all screwy last week and I accidentally skipped practice. No biggie."

Eyebrows flicking down the slightest fraction, Kuroko frowned, "If you're sure."

 _Yep, totally do not have the balls for this._ Kuroko's features didn't look any different than how she'd last seen him, but there was something off about his presentation _._ Hana couldn't put her finger on his tone and in response, a fight or flight response grew. Kuroko was just so… _difficult_. She'd already lost him once and if she spoke out of turn, history might repeat itself.

"Absolutely positive," Hana raised her hands. _I don't know how to do this._ A slightly strained smile pulled at her lips, "Don't worry about lil' old me. But hey, you should go practice."

Tilting her head back to practice, Hana brought Kuroko's attention to the court and subsequently, Kagami. His earlier aggressiveness had yet to fade, apparently ramping up after Kiyoshi's appearance and now Kagami was stalking under the hoop like a caged lion. _That comparison is probably not far off the mark._

Despite this, Kuroko tried again, "Imamura-san—"

"I made cupcakes," the subject change wasn't subtle at all, but it ceased whatever he'd tried to say, "Might want to grab one before Koganei eats them all."

When Kuroko transferred his attention to the upperclassman shoving a pastry into his mouth, Hana took that time to escape. _Who knew cupcakes could be so useful?_ It didn't take long before she felt Kuroko's stare return to her back, but she'd already put a good bit of distance between them. The feeling only faded when Riko's whistle rang across the gym and Hana returned to her seat.

A deep sigh escaped when the pressure faded. _What do I do with him?_

The question was left without an answer when practice started minutes later. The layout remained the same, except now Kiyoshi stood off to the side, deceptively kind eyes scanning the proceedings. _Probably doesn't like what he sees._ Hana would agree to that. A good bit of pressure still existed in the team's movements, mostly focusing between Kuroko and Kagami.

While it wouldn't be a huge deal otherwise, Seirin's playing style relied almost unhealthily on the duo's combined force. To further cement that notion, Kuroko misjudged his next pass and after a few bounces, the ball leisurely rolled off court. _There goes teamwork._

No one moved for a second, all eyes simply watching the ball roll away in a moment of reverence.

"…" Hana's shoulders slumped, "This is going to be a bitch."

xXxXxXx

It was, _in fact,_ quite the bitch.

Glowering at Kiyoshi's back, Hana tightened the band around her ponytail. She was a bit miffed, to be honest. She should have known things wouldn't progress easily. The earlier practice had hardly lasted fifteen minutes before Kiyoshi challenged Kagami to a one on one for the starting position. _Ugh, male dominance._

See, that wasn't really the problem though. Due to his stomping elephant impersonation, Hana wasn't that happy with Kagami at the moment. Additionally, the time in which they hadn't talked to one another had only made the grudge grow sour. She figured losing would be a good wakeup call for the ace.

So, it was safe to say, Hana wanted _Kiyoshi_ to win.

Which he didn't.

"Your shoes," Hana huffed under her breath for the umpteenth time, "Why couldn't you have just changed your damn shoes? You would have won, man."

Walking on Kiyoshi's left, Hyuuga snorted, "Complaining isn't going to change anything, Imamura."

She sniffed, "It might."

It wouldn't, but who cared about common sense? _Not me, that's for damn sure._

Silence grew around the little group of three as the moon peeked through the clouds, illuminating the sidewalk with the aid of several streetlights. Lately, due to Kagami's lack of presence at practice, Hana had the joy of taking the walk home alone. So, it came with great surprise when Kiyoshi offered to walk with her. She wasn't quite sure how Hyuuga got dragged into it though.

"I was under the impression you and Kagami got along," hands placed behind his head, Kiyoshi paused in his steps to shoot her a confused look, "When did that change?"

"…" Hyuuga stopped, giving his friend a disbelieving gape, "Who said they got along?"

Kiyoshi tilted in head in Hana's direction, "Imamura."

"Yeah, nope," following in her companions' footsteps, Hana ceased her movements, "I never said that."

"Huh," Kiyoshi blinked before shrugging, "My mistake."

 _Uh-huh, I'm sure it was._ Still standing still, Hyuuga and Hana exchanged dry looks. That tone sounded scarily similar to the one he'd used earlier with Kagami. As Kiyoshi got further and further away, Hana broke their hush, "He's doing that thing. You know, where he hides his scheming with stupidity?"

"That's one way to put it," scoffing, Hyuuga pushed the bridge of his glasses up before stomping after the other upperclassman, "He always does that."

 _Don't tell me._ Hana narrowed her eyes as she jogged to catch up to her captain. The undertone of his statement made something _bing_ in her mind, "Is that why he offered to walk me home? Am I in the middle of an intervention? Wait— are _we_ in the middle of an intervention?"

"Who knows?" shoulders lifting in a shrug, Hyuuga shook his head in denial, "There's no telling with Teppei."

"…" her steps wavered, "Yeah, because that makes me feel better."

Despite that, the rest of their walk continued in relative ease on Hana's part. While Kiyoshi and Hyuuga chattered, her mind was working in overdrive. There was still _so much_ she didn't know how to fix. Putting all the problems of her teammates into a neat and tidy little box wasn't possible. There were just too many technicalities involved. _Too many assholes to handle._

So, when their group came to a stop at the next vending machine, Hana decided to do the proper thing and ask her elders for advice. _Even if they are as eccentric as these two._ When Hyuuga ventured closer to the machine, Hana turned her attention to the other upperclassman. _The lesser of two evils._

"Hey, Kiyoshi," Hana's voice came from the side of the nearest wall, halting the conversation around her, "What do you think about everything?"

Both boys paused, Kiyoshi turning around to address her, "Everything?"

"The team," Hana elaborated as she kicked against the sidewalk, "How are we doing?"

It took a moment for Kiyoshi to form a response, "It's interesting…"

"Interesting," her shoulders fell, "That tells me so much—"

"You're talking about Kuroko and Kagami," also turning, Hyuuga rejoined the conversation after inserting his money into the vending machine, "Aren't you?"

When Kiyoshi nodded, Hana's nose scrunched with her reply, "Oh. Well that's easy, they're both being dumbasses."

"Both?" Hyuuga's attention fell onto her, "I thought Kuroko was fine. It's Kagami that's acting up… his playing style is becoming a lot like the Generation of Miracles."

"A little bit," Hana shrugged. Sure, there were comparisons, but they weren't identical anymore, "He's more… impulsive. Everything the Generation of Miracles do is calculated. Kagami plays with pure reaction."

"…" resting on the opposite side of the wall, something flashed in Kiyoshi's eyes when he acknowledged Hana's statement, "Imamura's right. If anything, I'd assume Kuroko resembled their playing style more so than Kagami."

"Ew," Hana argued. She could agree, but she didn't want to insult Kuroko that way, "Don't do that to Kuroko. Poor guy doesn't need that shitty comparison."

Kiyoshi hummed, "In some ways, it isn't a bad thing."

 _Eh._ After a moment, Hana squinted, "I guess. As long as it's not Akashi or Aomine, that's fine. Those two suck the most ass."

"I didn't know you were so close with them again," Kiyoshi's brow rose, "I thought—"

"Nope," Hana made a slashing motion with her hands. _We do not talk about the unholy glory that is middle school,_ "We— some of us— I don't know. Three of the six are okay, that's all."

"I've been meaning to ask about that," Hyuuga finally reached down to retrieve his drink. When he straightened back up, he gave Hana an annoyed look, "You hate them one second, then the next time you see them you're all buddy-buddy."

"It's complicated…" Hana stalled at the invasive question, barely avoiding Kiyoshi's knowing stare, "I should say the same to you and your stupid clutch mode! Talk about a personality shift."

Hyuuga twitched, "What does that have to do with anything? Don't change the subject!"

"I didn't! You did!"

"… You're still changing the subject, Imamura."

"Yeah, well," when Hyuuga raised a dubious eyebrow, Hana stuck out her tongue in childish retribution, "You changed it first."

Relaxing against the wall, Kiyoshi's mouth jerked into a small smile as he watched. The two continued to bicker between themselves, unknowing of the calculation that entered the tallest boy's eyes at the familial undertone. When Hyuuga took a threatening step toward Hana, Kiyoshi chose that moment to clear his throat and regain the attention.

"What made you ask for my opinion, Imamura?" Kiyoshi's gaze narrowed in on the moment her shoulders tensed, "It looked like you were thinking about something."

 _Can everyone read minds? Is this just a skill only I lack?_ Even Hyuuga paused at Kiyoshi's question as Hana shuffled out a response, "I was just wondering."

Kiyoshi's eyebrow rose, "About what?"

"It's nothing important," Hana's eye twitched at his insistence. _Move on already,_ "I'm just trying to figure out how to help. What I'm supposed to do and all that therapeutic bullshit."

"You're the manager," Kiyoshi's response was quick and to the point. Obviously, he wasn't understanding her issue with it all, "The best thing for you to do is continue supporting us."

 _Wait— Support._ Old advice from an asshole long gone rang through her mind. _You're supposed to support us, in any way you can._ Hana's brow creased uncomfortably, "What do you mean by support?"

"Whatever you feel is best," unknowing of the relief the words brought on, Kiyoshi gave Hana a reassuring smile, "It always helps to have someone encouraging you."

"And by encouraging…" Hana trailed off, switching her stare between the two upperclassmen, "You mean to help you guys develop. Or, push you to succeed, right?"

"That's the technical definition, yes," tilting his head, Kiyoshi finally nodded in resolution, "Both of those would work."

Well, pushing people's buttons tended to be one of her better talents. _Push them to succeed…I like that._ Energy buzzed in the base of her heels and Hana lifted herself off the wall, "Yeah, I can do this shit."

"Imamura," Hyuuga stepped in front of her and merged into the conversation, voice wary with apprehension, "Just… Just don't do anything crazy."

Brows furrowing, Kiyoshi questioned, "Crazy?"

"I'd never do anything _bad_ ," Hana was already stepping away from the group, eyes intent on the sidewalk leading toward her house. Plans began to race through her mind and she _was not_ letting Hyuuga's paranoia ruin them, "But hey— thanks for walking with me, I've got the rest of it covered though."

"…" Kiyoshi blinked in tandem with Hyuuga, "Alright? Goodbye, Imamura—"

The parting fell on empty air since Hana was already jogging down the sidewalk. With an air of confusion, Kiyoshi stared after her back only to be broken from his trance by an untimely groan. When he peeked toward Hyuuga, he frowned at the look of annoyance that adorned his face.

"You have," Hyuuga pinched the bridge of his nose when he met Kiyoshi's stare, " _No idea_ what you just did."

"How so?" Kiyoshi looked back after Hana's back, "Imamura isn't that bad—"

Hyuuga deadpanned, "The last time I saw her that excited, she broke into Kaijo. She's been calmer lately, but…"

After a moment of silence, Kiyoshi coughed, "Kaijo?"

"Yeah," with a sigh, Hyuuga lifted his hand to bring his drink to his mouth only to pause. At the lack of cold beverage, a tight grin stretched across his cheeks and a glance at Kiyoshi confirmed his suspicions. There was only one culprit, "That little shit."

"Hmm?" Kiyoshi tilted his head over his shoulder before faltering, "Oh. She took it?"

A dark aura began to build over the captain, "I'm going to kill her."

"… Let's not go that far."

x

* * *

x

With the easiest of her problems confronted, Hana now had to deal with the most difficult.

Her friends.

And their _stupid_ ego dominated mindsets.

After Kagami's return, Hana kept a careful eye on the separated shadow and light duo. Despite her habit of rushing into things, she decided to take the cautious route on this issue. Her feelings were still a bit hurt by their last conversation and running into this would only promise more issues. There was a time and a place for everything, and so far, the ideal time hadn't presented itself.

Until it had. _Kiyoshi said I should support them_. While tension still cloyed the interactions between Kagami and Kuroko, something was beginning to ease and a day after their last practice game, she made her move. _Well, it's time I start supporting._ She'd avoided Kagami long enough and now, it was time to make her stance clear—

With a goddamn _bang._

"Open the door!" Her fist rammed into the apartment door again, "I know you're in there, Kagami!"

There was a noise that sounded suspiciously like a plate breaking, "… _Imamura?!"_

"See!" Hana attacked the door again, subsequently cursing as the wood dug into her knuckles, "Open the damn door!"

"… You've got to be kidding," his voice was muffled from the other side, "What the hell are you doing here?"

 _The door is still shut._ Glaring at the tiny peephole, Hana hissed, "I'm here to talk. Now, if you'd please—"

A pause, "No."

Two trembling fists clenched and, if possible, Hana's eyes narrowed into even sharper slits. _No? That's all you've got to say. A goddamn no?!_ Shaking her head out, she took a deep breath. Anger wouldn't open that door. No… she needed to be smart about this. _What's Kagami's weakness?_ There were a couple, but one offered the fastest response.

"Huh…" clearing her throat, Hana resumed her yelling, "You can't just ignore me! After all those nights we spent together?!"

A loud crash echoed from the other side.

 _It's working!_ A sly grin pulled at her lips as she rested her forehead against the door, "How can you do this to me?! You promised— and you're leaving me! For that harlot!"

"You're absolutely crazy," Kagami's groan followed another clang, "Go away!"

 _Oh, no. I'm just getting to the best part._ Letting a healthy amount of sniffles work into her tone, Hana went for the finale, "But— but— what about the _baby_ , Taiga _?!"_

The door flung open and a massive hand latched onto her shirt collar, pulling her into the apartment. It didn't take long for her to be further tugged into the home and shoved onto the closest couch. _Jeez, ever heard of being gentle?_ When Hana's whiplash faded, she was greeted by the sight of a furiously blushing Kagami.

"You," Kagami practically spat the word out, "are _insane!_ I have neighbors, Imamura!"

"I mean, you opened the door," Hana blinked as she poked the couch cushion. _Leather? Fancy Americans,_ "I would have been chased off eventually."

For a moment, it looked like Kagami was seriously going to kill her. The flush on his face began to creep into his eyebrows and as he stood above her, muscular shoulders started to quiver. _Well,_ Hana swallowed as Kagami's glare narrowed, _this is a hell of a way to die._ Seconds ticked down in a stalemate when _finally,_ Kagami took a deep breath.

Slapping a hand against his face, he groaned, "You— you're a conniving bitch."

"Awh, missed me?" the words left her mouth shakily. _I'm just glad I'm alive._ Heart racing, Hana distracted herself by inspecting Kagami's apartment, "Man, you are living the life. You live here alone?"

Sinking down onto the couch, Kagami muttered, "I'm not even going to ask how you know that."

"Research," Hana shrugged. Looking away from the window and tilting her head to the side, she raised an eyebrow at Kagami's state of undress. Clad in only a pair of navy sweatpants and an apron, he looked like the perfect house wife. "I think you're missing some clothes."

The movement was slow as he looked down at himself. _I'm almost feeling a bit sorry for him._ When his bare chest greeted his vision, he cursed, "Goddamn it, Imamura."

"You can't blame that on me," Hana refuted, "I'm not the nudist here."

A hand flashed out in her direction and Kagami growled when she dodged the attack, "You're the one that showed up so early."

"Oh, poor you," _It's only six, stop being a baby._ As he shoved himself off the couch, Hana smirked, "Leaving me alone? Brave, aren't you?"

"…" Kagami paused in his exit to glower at her, "Don't touch anything."

 _Yeah, like that was going to happen._ Still, Hana nodded her head in agreement. Her good behavior lasted until Kagami vanished from sight. _Adventure time._ Sliding off the couch, Hana meandered over to the stack of movies laid out beside the television, "You've got shit taste in movies. Hey— weren't you in the kitchen?"

"I told you not to touch anything! I was cooking breakfast—" Kagami barked as he came out of his bedroom. It took a moment for the statement to register, but when it did, he hauled ass, "Damn it!"

Racing down the hallway, Kagami's shoulder clipped the wall's corner as he flung himself into the kitchen. The action almost sent him sprawling to the floor, but he caught himself just in time. _Smooth._ Hana brought a hand to her mouth, attempting to hide her laughter. It didn't work.

 _Run, Kagami, run!_

Ten awkward minutes later, Kagami slammed a plate of food in front of Hana before he collapsed into the chair on the opposite side of the table. _Uhm…_ His shoulders resumed their earlier trembling and Hana watched him with a wary eye, slowly reaching out and pulling the plate closer to her. _It looks edible._ She sniffed it once before saying to hell with it and digging in. _Kagami wouldn't poison me. I hope._

Of course, Kagami chose that moment to speak, "You never told me what you're doing here."

 _Let me eat, man!_ Swallowing down the food, Hana coughed before she explained, "To talk. Obviously."

"You could have done that at school," stabbing a fork into his breakfast, he scowled at her, "It would have been better than breaking into my apartment—"

"Yeah, and you would have ignored me," Hana deflected, "Like you're doing to everyone."

In response, Kagami raised an eyebrow, "I could say the same to you."

"You haven't tried to talk to me, dumbass," when his mouth opened again, Hana promptly cut him off, "I know Kuroko has, but I'm letting him figure his shit out first."

"You're a hypocrite," Kagami spoke with a mouth full of food and Hana's nose wrinkled at the bits of egg that fell out, "You shouldn't have waited this long."

 _What?_ See, now Hana was beginning to get a bit pissed. _He's not turning this around onto me._ Her hand clenched around the edge of her fork, "Like you? You two still haven't talked and you've been doing this shit for weeks now."

Kagami only shrugged, "There's nothing to talk about."

Honestly, his nonchalance infuriated her. _Especially when he damn well knows he screwed up!_ They'd all screwed up, but at least Hana was willing to admit it. _Mostly._ Sure, she cared about his stupid hotheaded ass and his lack of social awareness _… but this healing process would go a hell of a lot smoother if Kagami would talk! I'm trying here!_

"There's a shit ton to talk about!" Hana's hands slapped into Kagami's table, breakfast forgotten, "You just left Kuroko at the end of that game, it was a dick move—"

"I didn't leave him," placing his fork down with enough force to rattle the table, Kagami glared back at her, "You don't know what you're talking about, Imamura."

 _I'm going to scream._ Her left eye twitched, "I was right there. You know, _right_ there? Maybe five feet away from you?"

Kagami's head lowered as he snorted, "You wouldn't get it—"

 _Great, here comes this shit again._

"Because I'm a manager? Oh, I know that. You made that abundantly clear," nails digging into the finish of the table, Hana plowed on, "I'm not on the same level as either of you two and I _don't_ getit. Because I see more than you! All you see is your head shoved up your ass—"

"Shut up!" The following reply was quite in the aftereffects of his explosion, "Just— shut up, Imamura."

"No!" Hana swallowed the sting those words brought on, "Everyone tells me to shut up and I did! I let you guys handle your shit, but you aren't handling it! You're just… _gah_! I'm tired of keeping my mouth shut when you idiots keep being so goddamn stupid!"

It always came back to that. Either she said too much or she said it wrong and Hana was so goddamn tired of it. _You're annoying, Imamura. Shut up, Imamura. You don't know what you're talking about, Imamura._ Well, screw that. She had a damn awesome voice and he better listen to it well, because she had some shit to say.

"You just," taking a long breath, Hana released her death grip on the table, "You just gave up. What the hell happened back there?"

Arms shaking, Kagami's hand splayed out across the table and a moment of silence passed. With his focus still fixed downward, he began again, "I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand up to Aomine. Even with… even with Kuroko, we were no match."

"Kuroko can't hold you up, idiot," voice still raspy from her outburst, Hana sighed, "And you can't hold Kuroko up. Look past basketball for a second—"

"You don't get it," a weak huff crawled out of Kagami's throat, "I couldn't do anything against him."

 _Would you stop saying that?!_ Even at the risk of ruining the mood, her face fell into a deadpan, "That is exactly how I feel. All the time."

"It isn't the same—"

Raising a hand to cut off his incoming denial, Hana continued, "It's not the same, sure, but you think I didn't beat myself up over losing to Tōō? I was supposed to know better, I mean I _knew_ them, but I still couldn't do anything."

"…" lifting his head completely, Kagami stared at her across the table, "What'd you do about it?"

"I had some help," her lip pulled up a bit, "I won't lie, it was a bitch to move past it, but I'm not letting a prick like Aomine beat me."

A hush fell over the tiny four-seater table. For a second, Kagami didn't make any motion to show he acknowledged her. Instead, he continued to eat and glare down at the table. It could have been seconds or minutes before he finally released a rumbling sigh. With that action alone, all the tension in the room seemed to seep away.

A few minutes of comfortable hush passed, broken only by the occasional chewing.

"Huh," pausing in his digesting, Kagami poked at his breakfast. The past silence vanished with his thoughtful grunt, "Hey, Imamura?"

Stalling with a bit of food hanging inches away from her mouth, Hana raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Why'd you come here?" he finally allowed, "Why me and not Kuroko—"

 _Damn._ She'd hoped he'd drop that. Hana shrugged a bit, "You're easier."

"Bullshit," Kagami even managed a little laugh at the statement, "Tell me the truth."

"Don't be sassy. You really are easier," she lowered her gaze to the half empty plate of breakfast. Well, she had technically sabotaged his breakfast, might as well explain a bit, "Me and Kuroko… we've been through some shit. That's why I'm letting him figure it out."

One red eyebrow quirked, "You're scared?"

"Well…" _when he puts it that way._ Clicking her tongue, Hana peaked back up at her companion, "I guess. It's just— this little sob fest hit a bit too close to home. I don't want to screw up our friendship again."

"Really?" Kagami rolled his eyes with an untimely snort, "I doubt Kuroko—"

 _I do not need your snark, mister._ A sharp finger pointed in his direction, "See, now you're the one that doesn't get it. They're _sensitive,_ man. Push the wrong button and woo, drama."

"… _they're?"_

"Don't look at me like that. Not… all of them," her hand waved about in frantic denial, "Just the tolerable ones. Anyway, I've worked my ass off to rebuild shit—"

"Wait," Kagami deadpanned, "Kise is tolerable? What the hell, you've dealt with Midorima and you're worried about Kuroko?"

 _Is it really that simple?_ She'd like to say no, but it might be. Their dispute during middle school never really lingered long between Kuroko and herself. Yet, on the other hand, that only offered more complications. What if she did say something to him and proved every paranoia filled hypothesis correct?

"Erhm," she stalled, "Okay… looking past the Kise and Midorima comment, you've got to understand, Kuroko's difficult. He's a wildcard."

"You're crazy," with the simplicity only a male could offer, he continued, "Just talk to him. You don't need to worry about Kuroko."

Yeah, not that simple. Despite Kagami's amusement, Kuroko really was a wildcard. Due to the finely crafted mask of apathy he wore, there wasn't a concrete way to understand his motives or thought process. Like jumping into the deep end without knowing how to swim. So, Hana needed _plans_ before she ventured into the pit of Kuroko's emotional state. _Lots of plans._

"Oh, _damn,_ " Hana's eyebrow rose dubiously, "Look at that. I knew you hid a soft side, I just didn't think it'd be this sappy."

"It's not like _that!"_ choking, he shook off his embarrassment with a timely cough, "I'm just saying, you should talk to him."

 _Yeah, no thanks. It's time we move on from this little heart to heart._ Propping her chin on her palm, she drawled, "Wow, thank you for that advice. You're so smart. The smartest man I've ever met, maybe you should follow your own advice?"

"…" Her sarcasm offered the desired effect and Kagami's fork stopped centimeters away from his mouth. Two crimson eyes narrowed on her, "Get out of my apartment if you're going to be a smartass."

"Nah."

"Imamura—"

"Come on," sticking out her lower lip, Hana gifted him her most potent pout. _Time for the killing blow_ , "I thought we were bonding?"

Her statement worked wonders and Kagami choked again, slapping at his chest, "No. We're not—"

"You know, denial doesn't change anything," she sang despite the dropping temperature of the room, "… Taiga."

"No," Kagami snarled, " _No_."

"So rude, Taiga," she looked away before the laughter escaped, "We've really got to work on those manners."

It seemed Kagami was rendered speechless as his face flashed through several charming shades of color. _Pink, red, purple, and blue. Kagami's making his own rainbow!_ Blinking innocently at his chagrin, Hana plopped another bite of food in her mouth. One second passed, then another before Kagami finally managed to screech out a reply.

" _Don't call me that— It's too familiar!"_

"Eh," Hana shrugged, "Systematics."

Another growl escaped his chest before a thump echoed from the other side of the table. Startled, Hana glanced up just in time to see Kagami plant his face into its surface. She blinked at the melodramatics twice until she eventually snorted.

 _Success._

xXxXxXx

That afternoon, Hana still held on to a pretty good endorphin rush.

After their little heart to heart, Kagami ended up walking with her to school. It honestly didn't take much convincing, you know, since she was already in his house and eating all his food. _Which was damn tasty._ Truthfully, he might have just agreed so she'd get the hell out. Which was too bad. She'd _really_ wanted a chance to explore his bedroom.

Even the school day passed by calmly. There were a couple of interesting moments in her chemistry lab and getting to know her new table partner, but other than that, everything was great. Further cementing the greatness, practice went along smoothly too. While Kuroko and Kagami still didn't exchange words, they at least _looked_ at each other. _Everything is awesome. Everything is cool—_

Or it _was._

That opinion got stubbed out mighty quick when Riko dropped a pile of laundry in Hana's unsuspecting arms. Hana blinked, "… What?"

"You're on washing duty," Riko chirped, stepping past Hana to retrieve her schoolbag, "Punishment for skipping practice last week."

 _Oh, come on!_ Hana couldn't stop the resulting foot stomp, "But you said—"

"That you wouldn't have to run laps," with a sneaky little grin, Riko patted Hana's shoulder on her way out the gymnasium's door, "Which you didn't."

Why did that have to make sense? _Damn loop holes._ Narrowing her eyes on the pile of sweaty jerseys in her grip, Hana grumbled, "Fine."

For the sake of her dignity, Hana pretended not to see Riko's victorious smirk. She wasn't quite sure when it'd happened, but sometime during the spring semester, both girls had gotten involved in a little competition of sorts. Hana liked to call it, _who had to deal with the pile of decay known as the boys' laundry._ So far, the score was in Hana's favor, with only three points to Riko's seven.

Judging from Riko's smugness, that advantage wasn't going to last.

"Good luck, Imamura," waiting at the exit, Kiyoshi raised a hand in parting when Riko joined him, "Don't stay out too late."

"See! Even you know this is disgusting," with an accompanying goodbye, Hana lumbered toward the dressing room, "You guys smell like death. Learn to wear some deodorant."

On the other side of the gym, Hyuuga snorted. The captain didn't pause from collecting the basketballs as he replied, "You're one to talk."

 _Oh, everyone's a comedian, aren't they?_ Trying to balance the laundry on her hip without getting a face full of nastiness, Hana shot him a glare, "Are you saying I smell? I'll have you know that's bullshit… I'm a _lady_."

Hyuuga dribbled a rouge ball against the floor, "Huh, I couldn't tell," he bounced the ball again and a furrow built between his brows, "When's the last time we put air in these?"

"Don't know. Ask Furihata, he did it last," the doorknob twisted between her palm, "You got all the shit out of here, right? If I walk in there—"

"Yeah," rolling the ball between his hands, Hyuuga's paused before shooting it into the closest net, "Check with Kuroko though and see about his uniform."

 _Damn it all to hell. I forgot about him._ With a grimace, Hana stopped halfway through the door, "Where is he?"

"I'm not sure," jogging the catch the rebound, Hyuuga shrugged, "I think he took Nigou out."

 _Helpful._ With an annoyed huff, Hana pushed the rest of the door open with her hip. The darkness inside made her squint due to only a few rays of late afternoon sun filtering in through the window. Plopping the laundry basket on the floor, Hana's hand flashed against the wall in search for the light switch.

"Stupid laundry," the florescent light flickered on and she blinked, "Stupid boys and their stupid sweat. Stupid Kagami for leaving me. Stupid Kuroko for being difficult. Stupid… _stupid._ "

It only took two minutes tops before Hana gathered her backpack. Shoving the escaping papers back into their pocket, she slung the bag over her shoulder and grabbed the edge of the laundry basket as she walked back out the door before jerking to a stop. _Oh shit._ She'd been expecting to see Hyuuga…

Kuroko though, he was an unexpected variable.

Palm latching around the doorknob, Hana softly pressed it shut. _Laundry can be done later._ So far, her entrance hadn't been noticed. The two boys stood only a few feet apart and whatever conversation they were having appeared to be somber. _I can practically feel the angst._ Scooting down the wall, Hana tried to subtlety eavesdrop on their chat.

After a pause in speech, Hyuuga bounced his basketball against the flooring, "I can't force you to do anything. I think you should talk to Kagami first, though."

"…" Kuroko's tone hinted toward shock, "Kagami-kun?"

"Yeah," the captain dribbled again before shooting into the net, "He believed in you."

Despite her ever-increasing closeness, Hana still couldn't hear Kuroko's reply or the rest of the conversation. One second Kuroko was standing there and then the next, jogging out the door in a blur of turquoise. _Well,_ she blinked as the door slammed shut, _that was anticlimactic._ That didn't stop the cocktail of guilt bubbling in her gut. _If I hadn't avoided him…_

Instead of thinking on it, her gaze transferred back to the distracted captain as he walked after the rebound, "Hey—"

"What?" with an unmanly yelp, Hyuuga stumbled forward. Barely catching himself before his face planted into the floor, his now ashen features turned to gape at her, "Imamura! You're still here?"

"Pfffft," bringing a hand to her mouth, she tried to stop her giggles. She hadn't mean to do that, but Hana would totally take the credit for it, "Yeah."

Still kneeling on the floor and fighting to regain composure, Hyuuga glared at her, "That's all you have to say?"

"It's the nicest response," her shoulder lifted in nonchalance. Now that their little bout of humor was over, Hana looked back toward the door Kuroko vanished out of. She _really_ should talk to him, "Hey, what'd Kuroko want to talk to you about?"

Placing his hands on the court floor, Hyuuga pushed himself up to his feet, "Not that it's any of your business, but why are you interested?"

"It's some complicated bullshit," still staring after her friend's path, Hana's nose scrunched. _I know I've hit rock bottom when I listen to Kagami_ , "Do you know where he's headed?"

"Probably to find Kagami," now standing at full height, the captain brushed a few specks of dirt off his shorts. When he refocused back on the unruly manager, he frowned, "You shitty freshmen really need to talk to each other— wait— Imamura! Don't just walk off!"

 _What now?_ Only a few feet away from the exit, Hana stopped to give him a clueless look, "You said we should talk."

"What?" Hyuuga's eye twitched behind his glasses, "Now you'll listen to my advice?"

"Well, yeah," edging her foot closer to the awaiting door, she blinked, "It was good advice. For once."

"…" with a sigh born of pure defeat, the captain pointed one long finger at her, "Don't move."

Now, Hana was the confused one, "Huh?"

"You're a girl," the reply was tossed over his shoulder as Hyuuga jogged to retrieve the last few balls. Because of that, he missed the way Hana's eyes flashed in murder. _What's that mean?_ When he shoved them into the ball rack, he raised a dubious eyebrow in her direction, "Teppei would kill me if I let you walk around alone this late."

"That's bullshit," tracing her captain's movements as he walked into the dressing room, Hana rolled her eyes. _Stupid chivalry. Why do you have to be nice about it?_ When he returned, she finished, "Kiyoshi wouldn't kill you. You should be worried about Riko, she's the scary one."

"I'll agree with that," school jacket slung over his shoulder, Hyuuga deadpanned as he walked up to her, "But you obviously haven't seen Teppei mad yet."

Shooting him a bland side glance, Hana's hand grabbed onto the door. _Took you long enough._ Propping it open, she motioned Hyuuga through, "Why'd you add the _yet?"_

"Because it's true. Knowing you, it'll happened sooner rather than later."

"Really? That was rude."

Walking past her, Hyuuga snorted as he merged down the hallway, "It's not rude if it's true. Now come on, you've got to hurry up if you want to catch him, Imamura."

For a second, Hana's mouth gaped open. _Since when did captain get so sassy?_ Still holding onto the door, green eyes narrowed on the Hyuuga's back. He would _not_ beat her at her own game. _So, he wants me to hurry up?_

The door slammed shut behind her.

 _Fine. Let's do this._

X

It was the blur of blue that caught their attention.

Pausing in their meal, the two upper classmen watched Kuroko run past in fond approval. Their earlier concerns about teamwork and game play seemed irrelevant as they observed one of their younger teammates chase after friendship.

With a grin, Riko perched her chin on her palm, "Boys are so nice."

Kiyoshi opened his mouth to agree, only to stop when his eyes landed on another figure through the window. Actually, make that _two_ figures. A confused noise echoed from his mouth and caught Riko's attention, urging the coach to look in the same direction. This time their pause wasn't exactly due to fondness.

"What?" hazel eyes flying wide, Riko choked on a sip of her drink, "What are those two doing?"

Kiyoshi didn't respond.

Instead, he simply chose to watch the spectacle in silence… _and what a spectacle it was_. Between the two people, one small hand was latched around the taller figures shirt collar as they dragged the male down the road at speeds Kiyoshi would only attempt to copy on the basketball court. When the smaller figure picked up pace, the male's arms flapped in the wind and his mouth opened in a constant stream of complaints.

"That…" Kiyoshi blinked before shooting Riko a concerned look, "That was Imamura, wasn't it?"

Mouth in a permanent gape, Riko nodded, "And Hyuuga-kun… what're they doing chasing after Kuroko-kun?"

With a wince, Kiyoshi watched their path until they were gone. He knew from experience that Hyuuga's language wasn't exactly the kindest. Though, on that topic, Imamura might have him beat. Maybe the team should invest in a swear jar… With a thoughtful hum, Kiysohi plopped a fry into his mouth.

After chewing for a moment, he finally smiled in reply to Riko's question, "I'm not sure I want to know, but I trust Imamura to keep an eye on Kuroko."

Crickets rang in the distance before Riko's face finally fell, "Don't you mean that the other way around?"

"Not really," smile gleaming in the bright atmosphere of Maji, Kiyoshi let out a minuscule laugh, "I'm not sure why Hyuuga's there though."

"Hyuuga-kun's such a sap," ducking her head, Riko tried to hide the blush that stained her cheeks, "He's so protective. I bet he didn't want Imamura-chan wondering around by herself."

Catching the emotion flickering in her eyes, Kiyoshi's brows rose, "You two have become really close since I've been gone, haven't you?"

"Don't— don't say it like that!"

"It's not a bad thing. It's kind of cute—"

"Teppei!"

xXxXxXx

Of course, they found them at the basketball court.

 _Where else would they be?_

Peeking around the neatly-trimmed bush they were hidden behind, Hana squinted as she tried to understand what was happening. Their voices didn't quite carry over to their location and the sound of the basketball going through the hoop didn't help matters. Though, there was another issue adding to the interference.

Looking away from Kuroko and Kagami's face off, Hana raised a brow at Hyuuga's hunched over form. _I might could hear them if he stopped breathing so damn loud._

"How do you do that?" her captain's voice was a harsh whisper in the silence of their hiding place, "You ran so fast…"

"You told me to hurry," ducking her head back behind the bush, Hana shushed him, "Besides, the quicker you run, the shorter the torture lasts. Now be quiet. I can't hear."

"Respect—" he took a deep breath, "Your seniors—" another breath, this time more collected, "Brat."

"You'd think you really were a senior with such crap endurance."

"… Imamura."

"Sorry," standing on her tippy toes, Hana looked for a proper viewing spot through the plant, "You walked right into that one though."

"I'll give you that, just don't start taking after Izuki," straightening up to full height, Hyuuga rubbed a hand over his forehead. After a moment's pause, he looked at the bush separating them from their target, "Why are we waiting? I thought you wanted to talk to Kuroko?"

"I do," sticking her hand into the vegetation, Hana pushed a few branches out of her way. The sight that greeted her consisted of Kagami staring down Kuroko as he dribbled, something eerily similar to their first confrontation at the beginning of the school year, "Buuut, I want to listen first. It might give me an upper hand."

She could feel her captain's annoyance radiated through his reply, "You're horrible."

"Thank you. I try," Kagami's mouth opened and Hana waved her hand, "Okay, they're talking. Shush."

"Don't tell me to—"

"Shush."

Sensing the same atmosphere she did, Hyuuga silenced himself. Now that their practice game ended, the two boys began to speak to one another. With an aura of resolve, Kuroko lifted his head to meet Kagami's encompassing stare, "I have to apologize to you, I lied. In Middle School I received a uniform as the sixth man—"

"I know that," Kagami huffed, "You were the trump card of the Generation of Miracles."

"That's not true," Kuroko refuted, gaze never wavering, "They may have believed in me, but they did not trust me."

 _What?_ Hana breath whooshed out of her chest at his admission. It was sort of a taboo topic between them, so she never knew the extent of Kuroko's issues with the Generation of Miracles. She'd always just assumed… but hearing him speak so plainly, on an issue she damn well knew hurt, Hana felt her chest ache.

Because Hana had trusted him.

But she didn't anymore.

"Shit," Hana had to take a step away from her peek hole to recollect herself, "I'm such a bitch."

Turning away from his own view point, Hyuuga raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"This trust bullshit," Hana swallowed, tuning out the words of the boys just beyond them, "The whole reason I left them all in middle school was because they broke my trust— so hearing this shit, I don't know, it just sucks because—"

"Don't worry about that," Hyuuga scoffed, but the look on his face betrayed his kindness, "It's in the past. I doubt Kuroko's even talking about you."

"I guess," despite the words, Hana already knew the truth of the matter, "Thanks though."

The tone of the boys' conversation changed and exchanging a look, Hana and Hyuuga both turned back to their eavesdropping position. By now, both Kuroko and Kagami's shoulders morphed into tension coated mountains as they stood in front of one another. _Oh god, I hope they don't start punching again._

"The truth is," Hanan leaned closer to hear the words leaving Kuroko's mouth, "I've been using you to force the Generation of Miracles to recognize my style of basketball."

With a soul deep sigh, Kagami tilted his head back, "I had a feeling you were going to say this."

At the untimely plot twist, Hana felt her eye twitch. _How the ever-loving hell did you expect that?_ She thought she heard an accompanying sigh from Hyuuga's side, but she didn't focus too hard on it. Her only focus remained on the conversation between the shadow and light duo. Listening to Kagami compare himself to the Generation of Miracles, hearing Kuroko deny him, and finally as they promised to become stronger.

 _Together._

"Oh my god," Hana whispered as they bumped fists with one another, "It's like watching a soap opera. Dramatic little shits. They— oh my god, it's almost cute."

"Don't do that," The captain deadpanned, "You've got a weird expression right now. It's creepy."

"It's cute!" Her whisper picked up volume with the explanation, "How can you not have a weird expression? It's like watching Nigou play."

"… Kagami?"

"Yeah, that comparison could use some work."

The sound of a ball swooshing through the net brought their attention back to the two. As Kagami jumped down from his grip on the hoop, the basketball conveniently rolled toward their hiding place. Both pairs of eyes darted down to it with varying levels of alarm. _Oh, hell no. Don't do this to me fate. I've done nothing to you—_

"Oi," Green eyes flicked back up to Kagami as he spoke. Two muscular biceps were crossed behind his head, "Did Imamura talk to you yet?"

 _Don't bring me into this shit!_

"She hasn't," Kuroko's response was neutral in its finish, but the furrow of his brow highlighted his confliction, "Have you spoken to her?"

"Yeah," there was a scoff, "She broke into my apartment this morning."

Kuroko paused for a moment, "I'm not sure if you're asking me to apologize on her behalf—"

"Not really. I doubt you could stop her," Kagami threw the comment over his shoulder as he walked toward the rouge basketball, "Just wondering," Kagami was only a hairsbreadth away when he bent down and retrieved the ball, "Are you using her too?"

"Yes."

 _Well,_ Hana nearly fell backwards with the bluntness of his answer, _fan-freaking-tastic._ Her heart picked up speed as a chilled knife skirted her chest. _That's just what I wanted to hear—_

"I'm using her to remind me of what I don't want to lose," Kuroko's voice broke her rambling thoughts off before she could register them. After a second, he tacked on a follow up, "And the friendship we once all shared."

Hana wasn't sure what it felt like to be engulfed in molten lava, but she was pretty sure it felt like this. Every blood vessel in her face decided they wanted to change into an unflattering shade of pink and Hana clapped a hand over her face. _Nope, I'm not happy. This isn't happiness._ Beside her, Hyuuga coughed into his fist.

It was totally happiness.

"You should talk to her," that was the only warning the manager and captain were given with a quick moment of _oh shit_ before it was too late. One second Kagami remained cool and collected, then the next, he was launching the basketball into the safety of their bush, "Since she's _right_ there."

 _Holy mother of god! Who does that?!_

"…" Hana stared through the circle shaped hole to meet Kagami's glare, "Hey there, Taiga."

At least she was lucky enough to avoid the assault. It was too bad she couldn't say the same on Hyuuga's behalf.

X

Five minutes later, the whole group was assembled.

Well… it was more like Hana and Kuroko stood on the sidelines as they watched Kagami flounder about. His movements were laced with an underlying frenzy as he offered the upperclassman a towel from his bag. It was a good thing she'd avoided that basketball. _I can't believe he threw it that hard._ Because Kagami's aim had been off, Hyuuga was pelted with the ball and he now sported the nose bleed to prove it. _And man, that shit looks like it hurts._

While they waited, she steadily avoided looking in Kuroko's direction and he seemed of the same mindset for the moment. _Time and a place for everything, right?_ With the subject of her issues standing only inches away from her, Hana didn't know whether to laugh or cry. _My life is such shit._

"Imamura," Hyuuga tilted his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose to halt the blood flow, "I can't believe you dragged me into this. I told you _not_ to do anything crazy."

 _That makes two of us._ Licking her lips, she offered a shaky laugh, "Uhm, my bad? I've got to say though— I didn't think there'd be any casualties."

"Of course," the captain offered a wet huff, "I should have known better."

"Sorry," Hana shuffled a bit, "I'll buy you lunch tomorrow?"

Hyuuga opened one eye behind his, _thankfully still intact_ , glasses, "I want a sandwich. Three of them."

"I'll get you one," she allowed before motioning to the still wary Kagami. _He's not getting out of this_ , "He has to buy the other two."

"Deal."

Just now catching the conversation, Kagami choked, "What?! Why am I a part of this—"

"You threw the ball," Hana combated, shooting the ace a sickly-sweet grin, "You get to pay the consequences. Think… what would happen if you'd hit _me_ in the face?"

Mouth forming a line as thin as paper, Kagami deadpanned, "I don't think anyone would have cared."

"I would," motioning a hand over her face, Hana snarked, "All this beauty would be ruined."

Despite trying to ignore the awkward layer resting between all four of them, Hana could only avoid it for so long. _I wish I could teleport._ When Kagami rolled his eyes, Hana made the mistake of looking away from the redhead and to her right, gaze meeting and staying on Kuroko. _Yep, either die on command or teleport._ His shining blue gaze was already fixed on her with something unnerving. _Both would work too._

Eventually, Kuroko blinked and some of the unknown emotion faded from his face, "Have you two been here the whole time, Imamura-san?"

"Not the whole time," Hana offered, "Just long enough to… you know…"

Brow raised, Kagami deadpanned, "Hear everything we said?"

"Not all of it!" waving a hand about, she tried to deny the accusation, "Only the Generation of Miracles stuff and the using thing… and everything else. So— yeah, mostly everything."

There was an expected snort and attention turned toward the captain. Fingers still pinching his nose, Hyuuga explained, "We only heard some of it. We weren't close enough to hear everything."

"…" Kagami narrowed his eyes, looking between Hana and the upperclassman thoughtfully, "I can't believe she got you to do this."

"Me neither," Hyuuga offered only to groan as another bout of blood escaped his nose, "Oi, Kagami? Can I get that shirt now?"

"Yeah, here," breaking off from their group again, Kagami walked closer to Hyuuga, "Where do you want it?"

"… just give it to me, idiot."

Of course, this left Hana and Kuroko alone in tense silence. Moving from one foot to another, Hana whistled a little tune under her breath as she steadily avoided conversation. _If I pretend the awkwardness doesn't exist, it'll go away._ By now, that saying was practically law in her book. Did that make it a Murphy's law?

Since it seemed things never worked out in Hana's favor anymore.

 _I really need to work on my damn karma, this is ridiculous._

"Imamura-san?" Kuroko ventured, breaking the silence between them, "Are you alright?"

 _Huh?_ She stopped humming to shot him an incredulous look, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"After everything I've said," he explained, gaze observing each minuscule expression she wore, "I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't," she definitely wasn't going to venture into how his admission made her feel. Hana kind of figured _gooey_ wasn't the correct adjective to use. Instead, she poked him in the leg with her foot, "It kind of cleared shit up actually."

In the background, Kagami pressed on the towel a bit too hard and Hyuuga groaned. Kuroko ignored it in favor of replying, "How so?"

"The trusting thing. How you said they didn't trust you," Hana allowed, staring straight ahead. _Emotional bonding time, yay_. "It's kind of screwed up, but I didn't trust you either. After everything—"

Tilting his face away from her, Kuroko interrupted, "You don't have to explain."

"I kind of do," bringing a hand up to her cheek, she scrubbed at the leftovers of her blush. _Come on, if Kagami can do it, so can you_. "It wasn't like basketball trust— jesus, why is everything about basketball with you people? Anyway," Hana coughed before continuing, "I didn't trust you not to like… leave again."

"…" she could practically feel Kuroko freeze, "I'm sorry?"

She wanted to take it back, but her heart was already on the table and there was no point in taking it back. Might as well say to hell with it and throw it all out there. _You know, like confetti._

"We fucked up in middle school. I didn't stand up for myself until it was too late and…" her shoulders fell as she finally spared a glance toward her friend, "I trusted you guys even when I shouldn't have. I don't want to deal with that shit breaking again."

"You trusted us," wide, blue eyes blinked back at her. _You don't need to look so shocked, buddy._

"Yeah, for a while. Akashi's little backstabbing bullshit stopped that pretty quick," Hana amended before attempting to add a bit of humor, "I think I held on pretty long though, right? Five points for perseverance."

"You did," Kuroko appeared thoughtful as he dug through the undertones of her statement, "Are you saying you don't trust us now?"

"Not really," she quickly backtracked as the implications of her words registered, "I mean— not in the same way, more like, I don't trust you to stay? We fucked up once, and the Tōō game— we almost fucked up again. It's kind of why I haven't been talking to you lately."

"Because you're afraid I'll leave."

He didn't phrase it as a question, so Hana didn't answer it like one, "Yeah, but it's more like we'll go back to that awkward bullshit in middle school. I can't do that—"

With out a pause, he interrupted her, "The time you visited with Kiyoshi-san at the hospital?"

"Yeah…" one of Hana's brow rose at the subject change. Kuroko really needed to work on his tact, "Or more commonly known as third-year."

She didn't know what it was, but something she'd said brought a change to Kuroko's demeanor. The awkward, stilted tempo of their conversation filtered away to be replaced by a comfortable silence. As they both stood in relative peace, attention transferred back to Kagami and Hyuuga, both still wrestling with the towel and the ever-increasing nose bleed. _Poor captain._

"You don't need to be afraid," Kuroko looked away from the spectacle as his hand reached across the distance to interlace with her own, "I will do everything I can from allowing the past to repeat itself. The Generation of Miracles—"

"Chill with the heroic shit. You're going to give yourself a stroke," allowing his fingers to tie with her own, Hana squeezed, "I get it. No matter what, I'm with you and I'm with Seirin."

"I know," his thumb brushed against her pulse point, "Thank you."

Unbeknownst to the pair, Hyuuga and Kagami managed to successfully quell the nose bleed. Without anything to distract them, both boys were stuck watching the awkward confrontation between the two freshmen. Thankfully, Hyuuga's phone pinged in his pocket and he coughed to break the silence.

Reading the text, the captain raised a brow in Hana's direction, "Now that you're paying attention—"

"Can we leave yet?" Kagami finished the sentence, crossing his arms over his chest, "I'm starving."

 _And there goes the moment._ Releasing Kuroko's hand, Hana rolled her eyes as she moved to retrieve her forgotten backpack, "You eat more shit than anyone I know. Are you even human?"

"Kagami-kun is a growing boy," before Kagami could reply, Kuroko cut into the conversation with perfect accuracy, "He can't help it, Imamura-san."

Arms still crossed, Kagami looked between the pair suspiciously, "What are you trying to imply?"

"Oh, I don't know," scooping her bag up, Hana threw it over her shoulder with a grin, "I mean, you're already tall. What else could we be talking about?"

"…" Kuroko blinked, "That's not what I was referring too."

"What is she—" the flush that overtook Kagami's face meshed perfectly with his hair, "That's— _Imamura!_ You're—"

"You're disgusting," Hyuuga deadpanned, finally rejoining the conversation. His hand still held his phone and he looked down at it thoughtfully, "Teppei and Riko are at Maji, if you're really hungry, Kagami."

"Yeah," Kagami grumbled through his mortification, "Are we going?"

Hyuuga nodded, "I am. You can if you want to. Kuroko? Imamura?"

"I'll join you," stepping away from the grouping, Kuroko moved to pick up his jacket from the ground. When he straightened, his head tilted in Hana's direction, "Are you coming, Imamura-san?"

Fiddling with the strap of her bag, Hana met Kuroko's stare head on. His face was open and inviting, nothing hidden in the recesses like the past times they'd spoken recently. Next her gaze landed on Kagami and Hyuuga, who while not as accommodating as Kuroko, both didn't appear to be bothered by her presence.

After all that, there was a sense of… familiarity between them.

 _We're a team, on and off the court._

"Yeah," her agreement came easily and Hana smirked, "Sounds great. Last one there pays?"

"No, we're not— Oi!" like she'd expected, Kagami puffed right up when she sprinted for the gate, "Don't try to get a head start!"

"Kagami-kun should pay," Kuroko offered before he followed Hana's path, "He eats the most."

"What are you talking about? You're damn milkshakes are more expense!"

The captain was the last to leave the outdoor court. Flipping his phone open, Hyuuga dialed Kiyoshi's familiar number. A fond grimace pulled at his lips as his friend picked up, "You still there? Yeah. We'll be there soon… first-years are crazy."

While it might not have been ice cream…

As Hana slid into the booth beside Riko twenty minutes later, she figured hamburgers could be the start of another tradition.

x

* * *

 ** _Reviews: (I love ya'll. So much)_ **

**KeioIsha:** **Thank you! Ohh, you lived in Phoenix? Awesome!**

 **RainyDayRead116** **: Awwwh, thank you so much!**

 **Mercuae** **: Glad to hear it!**

 **Crystalviolet24** **: Your reviews are so detailed, I love them. You even manage to find more in the story than I do! I'm sorry last chapter was so angsty, but I'm glad you had that little hint of humor to hold onto! Regrading Hana's life outside of basketball, at the moment I'm not really sure she has one… opps. She's got school and basketball and friends and yeah… that's about it. I probably need to fix that, haha. Anyway, again, thank you! I truly do enjoy reading your reviews.**

 **Miss** **-** **fora** **: Oh my gosh, thank you! That's great praise and your reviewwww! It was so long and detailed thank you! But no, Aomine will not stayed exiled, I promise!**

 **Jeya** **Mendoza** **: Don't cry friend! I'm not sure Uoya's jealous, I'm kind of thinking him as a wing man right now. Or a,** _ **stop flirting with my bestfriend**_ **, type of guy. Totally up to your interpretation though! And yeah, the game was rough on me too. It hurt my heart just as bad ): Aomine did make it worse… bad asshole, bad. Anyway, thank you for another long review! I love hearing from you!**

 **Seere** **Klein** **: Uoya is an awesome boy. Best boy. AND I'M SORRY I MADE THEM ASSHOLEISH. IT'S JUST SO MUCH MORE FUN TO WRITE THEM THAT WAY. Thank you for your reviews!**

 **ArchimedesAckerman** **: Ahh, thank you! Their differing opinions will take a while to pan out, but everyone needs a touch of reality during magic basketball games and I'm kind of hoping to turn Hana into that. We'll see how it goes though!**

 **Saltqueen** **: Yes, yes she does. Thank you!**

 **ADDBaby** **: ALL THE COMPUTER HUGS. I'm glad to hear you've got so many great friends and that your mom is a GREATMOM TM. Greatmoms are the best, I have one too. But ahhh, don't cry friend! Go get some icecream!**

 **Naliyu** **: Awwwh, I'm so happy to hear that, thank you!**

 **NotAnnie** **: NO Don't cry, it's okay! Aomine just needs a big old hug or a big old punch, one of the two. But yeah, hugs are the best. Everyone deserves hugs. You deserves hugs too reader-sama, thank you! No seriously, thank you for that review!**

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuch** **: Yess, their bond is so much stronger. That's one of my favorite parallels in the story actually. Thank you for that wonderful review, I'm so happy to hear you loved last chapter! That's the bet praise I can receive!**

 **Uqor** **: Awwwh, thank you! I love knowing that people can actually feel emotion while reading, it's a great achievement. Thank you so much for your review, I truly appreciate it! Thank you!**

 **Xxjaelee** **: Yesss! I'm so happy that match is over too. I can't wait for Aomine's moment to shine either, it'll be so much fun! And winter cup! It's so close and it's so far and it's just teasing me because I've got so many ideas! Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for your review!**

 **Corralinne** **: Wooo, that would a big ol' harem. I'm laughing just thinking about it, but it also makes me really happy to hear that because it means chemistry between them is good, so thank you!**

 **Pinkdoughnuts** **: That she does! It's okay, I'm sure Midorima forgives you. Thank you for the review!**

 **Red Raspberries : Awwwh, I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you! I love making you guys all emotional, it makes me super duper happy! Thank you again!**

 **NinjaPenguinLover** **: I CAN 100% SAY IT IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE YOU LISTED. It will be fun though when the truth comes out, so I'm kind of excited. Thank you for your review, friend! I enjoyed your conspiracy theories!**

 **Imbue** **-** **Numinous** **: AHHHH I'M SORRY FRIEND DON'T LET YOUR CHEST EXPLODE. BE SAFE. THANK YOU I LOVE YOU.**

 **Chinchilla** **donut** **: Ahhh, thank you! Yeah, that's going to be a fun factor to play in to the story. Everyone's so intense about basketball in canon, I kind of wanted to explore the line between their real lives and their sports life. Kuroko probably did have something in store… sorry Hana's a terribly emotional person! Thank you so much for your review!**

 **Mary** **Kitten** **Heart** **: Awh! I'm so happy to hear that she's one of your favorite oc's! That omake would be amazing though. I kind of want to write it… you've got me thinking! Anyway, thank you for your reviews! They were great!**


	35. Chapter 35

Yo! It's been awhile and I apologize for that. Long AU (feel free to skip): Life just got... very overwhelming as well as _very_ stressful and I didn't have the motivation/energy to sit down and type one of these suckers out. That's partially why this chapter is so short compared to normal; I've gone ahead and cut it into two so I'm ahead a chapter. I also want to apologize because you guys waited so long for a new chapter and this isn't up to my past standard (at all). It's also basically filler, so... I'm sorry. My writing needs _a ton of_ work and I thought it'd be preferable to practice with a filler/fluff chapter instead of an angsty one. Again, sorry '-'

Thank you guys for sticking around and I hope you choose to do so again while I work through this writing slump! Love you guys!

 **Warnings :** bad language, bad attitude, and bad to the bone editing.

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke_

* * *

Hell in a Hana-basket

A light breeze ruffled her undone hair and Hana sighed in bliss. She could get used to this. Dry grass against her back, a dash of summer air, and just enough clouds in the sky to protect her skin. Green eyes blinked open before lazily crawling across her surroundings. The moment felt like a scene ripped from the pages of a well-read novel, with just enough reality to remain peaceful. _This is what dreams are made of._

The wind shifted, and a ray of sunshine slashed across her vision. _Yeah, no. Scratch that._

"Ugh," flopping a hand over her face, Hana growled, "What happened to practicing inside? Since when was this a thing?"

Sprawled out on her stomach, Momoi hummed, "It's really not that bad, Ima-chan."

"I'm going to burn _,_ living out the rest of my days as the human lobster."

Peering up from her notes, Momoi squinted in Hana's direction, "Did you not bring any sunscreen?"

 _Ah, damn._ Hana clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Nope."

"I think I brought mine—"

"Don't coddle her, Satsuki," the words were accompanied by a basketball dropping between the two girls, "Imamura's a big girl, or is all that talk of yours just air?"

Hand still shading her eyes, Hana tilted her head up to peer at the shadow above her, "I will punch you. Right in the knee— maybe higher. Go for the gold and all that."

Choosing to situate himself perfectly between the two girls, Aomine collapsed onto the ground. Sweat trickled off his brow before the ace wiped it off with the bottom of his shirt. As Hana's _traitorous_ eyes skimmed the newly exposed skim, Aomine snorted, "Like I'm scared of you."

"You should be," despite her righteous annoyance, Hana lost the edge of her venom with the rising heat. The edges of Aomine's jaw weren't as narrow as she'd last seen, and it was hard to keep her tongue sharp against the forgotten sight, "I'm terrifying."

Attention back on her notes, Momoi nodded succinctly, "Terrifying."

"Pfft," Aomine's lips ticked up into a smirk, "You wish."

Burrowing her face into the grass, Hana grumbled halfheartedly, "One day, you're going to be scared of me and I'm going to hold it over you for the rest of your life."

"Doubt it," gaze moving to a point above her head, Aomine's smirk turned feral, "What do you think, Kise?"

There was a considering noise above her as Hana heard Kise lower himself to the earth. Unlike Aomine, the blonde sat close enough to her that his knee skimmed the side of her hip. _Talk about taking liberties._ Hana peeked one eye open to glare at him. Feeling her stare, Kise's attention fell onto her as he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"I don't know, Aomine-cchi," his hum was teasing and Hana prematurely rolled her eyes at the devious tilt of his lips. It was a hard thing to make an insult charming, but if anyone could, Kise could do it, "Imamura-cchi can be pretty scary looking after a long practice."

A snort crawled out from between her lips, "You're one to talk, Ryouta—"

 _The hell?_ Hana's face scrunched together. Something about that response wasn't right. Now that she thought about it, a lot of the conversation had been _wrong._ It wasn't fitting the script— but what script? The sense of peace she'd gained earlier started to become tainted with a layer of confusion. Rolling off her stomach, Hana crawled to her knees just in time to hear Aomine release a sharp bark of laughter.

It was the muted footfalls behind her brought Hana's attention away from the two boys. Four figures moved through the edge of the tree line. _The groups all here._ From green to purple, and blue to… _red,_ the rest of the missing scene had arrived. Again, that latent feeling of oddness rose to the surface. _Wrong, wrong, wrong._

"Mura-chin," at the back of the group, Murasakibara moved toward her position. From what she saw— _remembered?—_ he hadn't been working hard enough to earn the sweat that dripped down his neck, "I want a water."

Her mouth moved without control, "Come and get it, Atsuhi," she stretched her arms above her head in an attempt to erase the new stiffness, "You have legs. Huge ones, might I add."

"Annoying," the giant's response was a sigh as he passed by, but that didn't stop the way his fingers grazed the edge of her hair, "You're the manager."

"She's the manager of a different team, Murasakibara," the added voice came from the left where Midorima stood beside their gathering. Black rimmed glasses flashed in the mid-afternoon sun as he wiped them against his shirt, "Besides, it's neither her _or_ Momoi's job to retrieve your water."

For some reason, Hana's neck felt heavy and she suppressed the urge to glance toward the remaining duo. It was as if she _had_ to look that way. Like all the other actions of the past few minutes, the impulse seemed out of her control. Ignoring the twinge of unease, Hana agreed, "See, Shintaro gets it. Smartest out of all of you."

Out of pure generosity, Hana ignored the choking sound that came from the afore mentioned boy. _Got to throw him a bone every now and then._ Too bad it seemed the rest of their audience wasn't so kind, but when where they ever?

Lowering the water bottle from his mouth, Murasakibara stared blearily in the shooter's direction, "You're red, Mido-chin."

"Bah! Look what you did now, Imamura," Aomine paused from his brief verbal scuffle with Kise and cobalt eyes leered in Midorima's direction, "He'll be hard all— _hey_!" removing the shirt off his face, Aomine scowled at the sixth-player, "What was that for?"

"You were being rude," unlike the rest of his teammates, Kuroko lowered himself to the ground without spectacle, "I thought it would be best to stop you before you said something you'd regret."

"I wouldn't—" Aomine paused when he glanced around the assembled group. Midorima's previous flush of embarrassment had darkened its hue in anger, while even Momoi had set down her pencil to scowl in Aomine's direction. For a reason Hana found extremely pleasing, he didn't even risk looking her direction before scoffing, "Pfft, whatever."

Feeling her lips tug into a grin, Hana dug her fingers into the grass before lobbing a chunk in Aomine's direction. When he effortlessly dodged it, green eyes rolled, "I take back everything I said, Tetsuya and Shintaro are the smart ones. Well, Momoi too, but that goes without saying."

"Thank you, Ima-chan," now giggling, Momoi finally sat up and joined the conversation. Dainty hands tied her hair into a bun as she replied, "You're my favorite too."

"Awh," Kise pouted beside her before nudging her calf with the toe of his shoe, "That's not fair."

"Totally fair," Hana countered, flicking the remaining blades of grass into Kise's hair. He huffed in irritation, but the smile on his face only grew with Hana's matching grin, "We've got to put up with dicks like Daiki over there, we deserve to have each other."

Kise replied, but Hana's heart was too busy imploding for her to pay mind to it.

Sometime during their talk, the last remaining figure stepped into the grouping. He stood beside Kuroko, analytic and unyielding. As Hana's green eyes scanned over his form, the peculiar sensation of before reared its ugly head. Unlike the rest of the boys, who retained their middle school appearance, Akashi looked older. His eyes were what gave him away, the hetero-chromatic hue glowing in the shadow of his face.

The sight and feel of his presence wasn't meshing with the memory— _dream?—_ her mind was supplying.

Fully realizing the unnaturalness in the proceedings playing out, Hana wet her lips before opening her mouth, "Seijuro?"

" _Hana_ ," Even in this dream-verse— _or would it be a nightmare_ — Akashi's aristocratic drawl sent shivers cascading down her arms. He stepped further into the groups' clearing, allowing the sun to slash over his features, "You missed it, didn't you?"

Hinting toward warning, the breeze from before vanished and the air became stagnant, "Missed what?"

"Your attempt at idiocy is useless, it's never suited you," the smirk that cut his cheeks was lethal. Next thing she knew, the world skipped, like a record player scratching, before Akashi stood alone in the area. Hana still rested on the ground and Akashi offered out one soft hand in her direction, "I'm referring to your purpose, to the times when you truly meant something."

Without her conscious agreement, Hana's hand fell into Akashi's own. _Shit, shit, shit._ Time seemed sluggish as she rose to her feet, the dream-scape around them morphing into untainted emptiness. Not even a floor rested below them and the only light in the area came from Akashi's stare. As Hana came to stand firmly on her own two feet, those eyes blazed even brighter.

"I can fix it," removing his hold, Akashi instead choose to tease his fingers across her cheek, "Do you not trust me?"

"This is a jacked dream," face to face with the boy that haunted her recollections of happiness, Hana gulped, "I don't need you—"

"You do," without moving, his figure was somehow closer, and Hana swore she felt his ghostly breath against her face. With a demure smile, he continued at her hitching breath, "You always have."

The fingers costed back down her cheek before they landed on her chin, surprisingly warm. As she stared into those technicolored orbs, she was startled to find her own gaze reflected upon their surface, but it came with a twist. Because of the orange tone of Akashi's unnatural eye, Hana's own reflection warped in the same way. One green eye and one orange.

The sight was so unpredictably horrifying, she didn't even notice when Akashi came closer until it was too late, "You see it, don't you?"

Refusing to acknowledge whatever he was claiming, Hana yanked her face away from his grasp and slammed her eyes shut.

—But the feeling of something wet touching her face shot them back open. Akashi's figure was so close, their noses could have touched, but the wet, crawling sensation traveled away from her cheek and to her chin. Hana jerked back, losing focus on the Dream-Akashi and causing the area to flicker. That was all the distraction she needed before whatever was happening in this weird little hell zone was lost to the blur of reality crashing over her.

X

Hana came back into consciousness with a body wrenching gasp.

Before promptly screaming when the canine face above her own came into view.

"What the hell?!" The fact that she couldn't move only sent her adrenaline into overdrive. The blankets that were tangled over her body hindered any escape, but at least her thrashing made Nūdoru jump off her chest, "Dude! You—" she touched her _slobber_ covered face, "Ew! _Nūdoru!_ "

Despite her glare and muffled curses, Nūdoru had the audacity to woof.

"Took you long enough. You sleep like the dead," the voice came from her doorway and Hana swung her startled gaze in that direction. Her father snorted before flicking the ceiling fan light on, "You've got fifteen minutes before we head out."

With a groan, Hana yanked her coverlet over her head. _What a way to wake up._ Then his sentence registered, "Wait… head out?"

"Today's the day," her father waited for a response, but when he received none, he deadpanned, "You've got training camp today and if you want to get there in time, we've got to leave soon."

A moment passed.

Then another.

"Crap!" Hana flung the blankets off her body before falling off the bed. She tumbled to her feet, cursing a mile a minute, and sprinted toward the bathroom, "Riko's going to freaking _murder_ me!"

With a sigh molded from struggles of raising a teenager, her father let out one last warning before shutting the door behind him, "Don't forget you need to pack."

Hana deemed that reminder insignificant for the moment, instead choosing to jump into the scalding hot shower. As she scrubbed her soap over her face, she let out a hiss. She'd been having these dreams for days now, but that was the first time they'd featured Akashi so intimately. _God._ Hana could still feel his hand against— _Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope, analyze the subconscious bullshit later._

Man _,_ she could already tell this was going to be a long ass day.

xXxXxXxXx

She wasn't one to brag, but she totally called it.

Not only was the drive down to the shore excessively long, but so was all _this._ For the past twenty minutes, the car remained idling in the resort's parking lot. It wasn't looking like it was going anywhere either. _The price of gas nowadays does not support this type of behavior._

"Dad," Hana deadpanned. Her hand was holding the door handle almost reverently, "It's going to be okay—"

Her attempt at comfort didn't change anything. Instead of looking at his _wonderful_ daughter, her father's gaze remained locked on the group outside of the building, "I see one girl, Hana. _One._ Do you know how many boys I see? _Too many._ "

"Do you know how many of those boys are scared shitless of me?" the retort was muttered under her breath. _Not even mentioning how scared they are of Riko._ With a steadying breath, she tried again, "I'm rooming with Riko— Aida Riko? You talked to her dad."

Again, he ignored her reasoning. Which was _rude._ It was pretty solid in her opinion.

"I'm going to go introduce myself—" without stopping to hear his daughter's complaints, he was already stepping out of the car and marching toward the group, "Stay here, honey. This won't take long."

 _Wait, wait, wait what?!_ Hana fumbled with the door handle before rushing to intercept him, "Dad! It's not that big of a deal!"

He merely waved a hand over his shoulder, his gaze already locked on the most intimidating male in the group. Which coincidentally happened to be Kagami. "This will only take a minute, sweetheart. I just want to talk— Hana!"

"Sorry old man," Hana wheezed as she managed to dart ahead of him. _Got to save them._ She ignored the bewildered gaze of her teammates to stumble out a warning, "Prepare yourselves."

The group stared at her before as one symbiotic unit, their gaze flicked to her father. Then back to her. The pattern repeated a couple times before comprehension formed. A few of the older boys winced when the meaning of Hana's warning became clear, obviously already having dealt with this type of father themselves. _I'm so sorry._ When the footsteps came closer, Hana offered them all a guilty grimace.

"What?" The only one who seemed capable of speech was Kagami, which further cemented him as her father's target, "Imamura… what the hell is going on?"

She didn't have a chance to explain.

With determined strides, her father came to stand beside her. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared down the male players, attempting to look intimidating. It seemed a genetic trait prevented the both of them from pulling the look off successfully though. Because, with his height equal to Hana's own and the layer of baking power still stuck in his hair, her father looked more like the Pillsbury dough boy than John Cena.

"And you are?" chest puffing, her father glared up at Kagami, "I'm sure I'd know the face of someone who talks about my daughter so familiarly."

 _Oh, dear god._ Hana's face fell into her hands when Kagami coughed out a reply, "Uhm— no one— I mean Kagami Taiga, sir—"

"Dad," Hana moaned, "You know about Kagami."

The way he sniffed in dismissal was personally familiar, "I just want to know who my daughter's staying with; since I'm her father, Imamura Heiji. Now, Kagami-san— you look like you're in charge here, am I right?"

"No— I mean, sorry," if it wasn't such an ass backward situation, Hana might have laughed at the way Kagami floundered about, "I'm just a first year? Not— I don't—"

"So, you _aren't_ going to look after my daughter, that's what you're telling me?"

"Yes! I mean— no! Or yes? No!"

Jesus, she didn't know what to do. Half of her wanted to save Kagami, but with her unfortunate nature, her father would likely just move it onto someone else— probably Furihata or one of his pals if her luck held true. Removing her head face her hands, Hana shot a pleading look toward her seniors. They looked equally bamboozled, but Kiyoshi at least had to grace to pay attention when Hana mouthed, _help me._

The gentle giant stepped forward, "Hello, Imamura-san. I can—"

"We'll look after your daughter," to say everyone was shocked when Kuroko interrupted was a _smidge_ of an understatement. He ignored the surprise in favor of bowing his head toward her father, "Kuroko Tetsuya, we've met before."

"Ah…" his mission momentarily forgotten, her father rubbed the scruff at the base of his chin, "Didn't see you there, Kuroko-san. It's been a while. Haven't seen you around in a bit."

Collectively, the group held their breath. This could go one of two ways. Either her father remembered Kuroko from middle school fondly, or his memories were tainted from Hana's subsequent falling out with them. _Fingers crossed he still likes him._ With a measured glance, her father scanned Kuroko from head to two before eventually nodding. Everyone, sans Hana, slumped in tandem relief.

"That would be my fault, Imamura-san," Kuroko humbly replied. Hana didn't know _how_ , but Kuroko had this ass-kissing thing down, "I apologize."

With a sigh, her father waved him off, "Don't worry about, kid. It's just nice to see a familiar face. You'll take of her," his eyes cut toward Kagami and a brow raised, "Won't you?"

"It would be my pleasure," stepping even further out of the line of her teammates, Kuroko glanced toward Hana and blinked, "Do you need any help with your bags, Imamura-san?"

 _Really? Don't encourage this._ She attempted to slightly shake her head, "I'm good—"

"Yeah, come on kid," her father interrupted and motioned for Kuroko to follow him. Hana threw her hands up, but he didn't even pause to catalog the movement before leading Kuroko back to their car, "She's got a few."

"I said it was fine—"

"Of course, Imamura-san," apparently discounting the warning, Kuroko moved on without looking back.

 _What?_ Hana starred after them, face falling in incredulity. She hadn't seen her father behave that well with a boy since well, _Torio_ coincidently. Which was a little fact that didn't bode well in Kuroko's favor. _Poor guy, doesn't even know what's coming for him._ Hana pinched the bridge of her nose to try and remove the sudden headache before a throat clearing halted her.

When she glanced at the noise maker, Kiyoshi tried to smile, "So, that was your dad? He seems—"

"Crazy," Hana finished for him. Even though she loathed to do it, she shot a guilty grimace in Kagami's direction, "Sorry about that. If it makes you feel better, you did better than Uoya his first time. He cried, just a little bit though."

Face still ashen, Kagami swallowed, "What about Kuroko?"

 _Yeah, about that…_ Hana could only shrug, "He hates him."

"What?!" Her team gawked, " _How can you say that so easily?!"_

Taken aback, Hana held her hands up in innocence. _At least they're loyal._ But really, it wasn't her fault her father was like this. It was just an unfortunateuniversal fact of life. Dads were dads and did weird, _dadly_ things. At least Riko seemed to understand.

The coach nodded sagely, "Mine does the same thing. Remember, Teppei?"

"Oh, I'd forgotten about that," gazing into the distance, Kiyoshi smiled to try and hide his shiver, "I thought we were getting along so well and then—"

As one, the males of their team held their breath, "And _then_?"

This time Kiyoshi couldn't stop the shudder, "He invited me to dinner."

"Really?" the rest of the boys' deadpanned, "That's it?"

"It was horrible," Riko cut in when Kiyoshi appeared trapped in his memories. She tried to keep her tone solemn, but Hana saw the grin tugging at her lips. "I've never seen Teppei so nervous. I don't know how he managed to stick around after that, but my dad seemed okay with him from then on."

 _Yeah, she gets it._ Motioning a hand in Riko's direction, Hana added, "It's terrifying from both sides. He's only done this once with my old— _acquaintance_ from middle school, but it was a shit show. You think your little basketball pissing contests are intense? Try the shovel talk."

Furihata gulped, "The shovel talk?"

" _If you hurt my daughter, I'll knock you over the head—"_ Hana began.

While Riko finished, " _And bury you in the back yard."_

"That's…" if Kagami's face was pale before, it was nothing compared to now, "Is Kuroko going to be okay?"

 _A good question, man._ Licking her dry lips, Hana could only cough, "I guess so. I mean, I know so? Torio survived anyway."

At that, the group returned their attention to the two removing luggage from her car. Well, by this point they'd both finished their duty as Hana's _only_ purple suitcase laid at their feet. _See? Told you so. You didn't need to help._ Meanwhile, the car trunk was popped open and her father leaned against it as he stared at a stone-faced Kuroko. Hana could sense the strain though yards away _. It was a trap._

With a forlorn sigh, Izuki shook his head, "Poor, Kuroko-kun."

"He was such a nice guy," tears streaming down his face, Koganei hugged Mitobe tight, "He didn't deserve this _!_ "

Joining the theatrics, the freshmen trio nodded as Kawahara laid a palm against his chest, "We will honor his sacrifice."

And _somehow,_ in the midst of it all, Tsuchida produced a white flag and waved it through the air in morning.

"You guys," Hana deadpanned, "It's not that big of deal—"

Lifting his head from Mitobe's shoulder, Koganei sniffled, "We're having a moment of silence, Imamura-chan."

 _Oh, come on. I give up._ Throwing her hands in the air, Hana turned away. _Dramatic bunch of dweebs._

For another five minutes, the group observed in reverent silence. Well, the boys did. Riko and Hana had since then situated themselves in the back of the grouping to roll their eyes at the hysterics. When Riko punched Hyuuga in the shoulder for his whispered comment, Hana could feel an epiphany in the making. They did have a lot in common, didn't they? _Maybe our dads could go get a drink sometime?_

She didn't have much longer to think about it before the car's trunk slammed shut. With her luggage bag in hand, Kuroko was walking back toward them. Apparently, the shovel talk was over. _Took them long enough._ Meanwhile, her father called out to her, "Bye, honey! See you in a few days!"

"Yeah," Hana waved back weakly. Her attention stayed on Kuroko's pallor, "Bye, dad. Love you?"

"Love you too, sweetheart!"

"And I thought coach's dad was scary," in the background, Tsuchida shivered, "Now there's two of them."

With another slam of the car door, the engine was revving up and driving back down the sandy entryway. The noise made a few of the weaker willed boys jump, but most of them stayed engrossed on Kuroko. _See, that wasn't so bad._ Hana paused that thought before making a noise in the back of her throat. She _could_ admit Kuroko looked a little sick around the edges.

"Are…" Koganei was the first to break the silence, "Are you okay?"

With a strident nod, Kuroko finally made his way into the group again. Yet, instead of answering the question, he held out Hana's bag, "I believe this is yours, Imamura-san."

"Thanks, Tet—" _Stupid dream!_ Hana swallowed her traitorous words so fast she choked. Even the bag nearly fell from her grip, "Thanks, _Kuroko!"_

She could tell he noticed. Which _of course_ he did, it was Kuroko after all _._ No matter how inadvertent the action _,_ nothing escaped his observation. There was no hiding the enlargement of his eyes despite his accustomed stoicism, but luckily, fate deemed she'd suffered enough this morning. _Praise the lords of luck and all things awesome!_

Her saving grace, Kawahara spoke up, "Did you get the…" he stumbled over the words, " _Shovel talk_?"

Kuroko blinked the residues of confusion from his stare, "No, we didn't speak about shovels."

"That's—" Kawahara sweat dropped, "I didn't mean actual shovels…"

"Well, what happened?" Kagami seemed to be faring better now that her father had left. Hana wasn't sure if she should feel offended by that factor or not. _Let's just go with the benefit of doubt on this one._

"Nothing," eyebrows falling the slightest bit, Kuroko continued, "He simply invited me to join them for dinner next week."

Hana huffed in surprise at that tidbit. _Say what now?_ Her father hadn't even invited Torio to dinner, he'd just hijacked their hangout time one evening and drilled his fatherly love into the younger boy's skull. Though, she wasn't sure if this new direct development could be classified as a good thing or not.

She tried to get her thoughts together, "When—"

" _No_!" As a collective, the boys interrupted, "You can't go!"

While Hana grumbled, Kuroko didn't appear phased by their desperation and simply skirted around their reach. "I already gave my promise I'd be there. We've planned for next Sunday evening, Imamura-san."

So lost in their own conversation, the group missed the knowing brow raise Kiyoshi gifted their coach. Riko choose not to reply verbally, instead contenting herself by shrugging and observing the outcome. Though she did nothing to cover the grin that graced her cheeks.

"Uh," Hana still didn't know how to handle this. _Dinner… with my family? The hell._ She'd assumed her father would have chased Kuroko away instead and all her predictions of the future built off that assumption, "That's good? I mean—" _take a deep breath, "_ That's cool, it's cool."

It apparently wasn't cool to anybody else. Though he'd been passive for most of the conversation, Hyuuga finally stepped forward and snagged Kuroko by the shoulders, "You can't go. It isn't safe—"

And _then_ it all went to hell in a handbasket. Or should she say hell in a basketball hoop? Oh well, it didn't matter now.

"He's going to kill you—"

"— chop your head off—"

"— and bury you in the yard! "

"We need you, Kuroko!"

" _Don't go!"_

"You're being idiots," Hana scoffed at the growing chaos. She was beginning to get insulted despite the earlier forgiveness, "This is my dad, highly doubt he'd murder someone."

While he hadn't participated directly in the recent madness, Kagami snorted and put himself into the crossfire, "He's related to you."

"… yeah, well, if that's how it works," her eyes narrowed on the ace, "I'll make sure you're the first target."

In the meantime, Kuroko stood in the midst of confusion and pandemonium he'd unknowingly unleashed. His turquoise eyes were still a bit wider than normal and, as Nigou came padding up to him, Kuroko chose that moment to follow Kiyoshi's example and retreat to the relative safety of his coach. It would be referred to as _relative_ safety due to the fact that Riko appeared ready to explode herself.

Which she did moments later, "That's _enough!"_

The coach's screech worked as intended. Every member of their team, save for Kiyoshi and Kuroko, froze and cautiously turned toward the devilish woman. The aura that coated her could best be described as formidable and, as Riko lifted a sharp finger in the direction of the beach front, everyone shot to attention.

"We are here for one reason," the smile that pulled against Riko's cheeks looked fatal, "And I suggest everyone gets ready because that reason starts now." The coach's hand slashed out across the horizon, "Training camp is in session! Everyone! _Go!"_

And just like that, _like the little cowards they were_ , everyone raced toward the shoreline; luggage and talks of shovels forgotten behind them.

When they managed to make it to the beach front, the group lined up with the girls and captain in the middle. Taking her place beside Riko, Hana clutched her bag to her chest before wary eyes roved over the beach's added features. She said added, because Hana was _pretty_ certain beaches didn't come with basketball hoops now-a-days.

"Don't tell me we're going to…" Hana didn't catch who spoke, but she echoed the sentiment.

"We're going to play basketball," Riko stepped forward, the sun gleaming off her hair, "What Seirin needs now is to improve the skills of each individual player. But don't forget, we're not making a team of individual strength, but increasing each one of the powers we have as a team. We win as a team."

"Uhm," lowering her voice into a whisper, Hana glanced to Izuki at her side, "Heads up, I think you guys are going to die."

Izuki didn't get a chance to reply before Riko took his place. The unholy glint in her auburn eyes promised terrible things, "You're part of this team too, Imamura-chan."

Hana gaped, "Now _hold the freaking phone—"_

"Shooting, passing, dribbling, to improve all your actions," with practiced ease, Riko ignored the manager, "We'll be playing on the beach."

Frankly, Hana didn't want to hear anymore. _Managers should not be part of torture!_ As delicately as she could, she attempted to take a step out of line. The movement was useless. As soon as she'd managed to move, Izuki grabbed her wrist and on the other side, Hyuuga repeated the action. _What type of betrayal is this!?_ When the captain glared down at her, Hana cursed.

"As a _team,_ Imamura," glasses flashing, Hyuuga gave her a threatening smile, "Don't even think about it."

 _Shit._ Stuck for the time being, Hana sent a prayer up to the basketball gods for mercy. She figured it was the _least_ they could do.

Unfortunately, Riko's final words cemented her untimely doom, "Let the training camp from hell begin!"

 _Double shit._

xXxXxXx

By the end of the day, Hana didn't have much to complain about.

Okay. So that might _technically,_ not be true, but she'd let it go for now. Because after all the torture was said and done, it almost felt like a real vacation.

After a sorely needed dinner, the team broke apart to begin their nightly routines. Even her own stomach pudged a bit out of her swimsuit and when it gave a contented rumble, Hana patted it in greeting. After standing from her seat and tying the saltwater-soaked strands of her hair into a messy bun, Hana merged through the last of her teammates and offered her partings before heading to her and Riko's conjoined room.

The day had been an adventure, all right. Every bone in her body ached and Hana had a suspicious feeling that the sandy mess that coated her skin had bleed into her blood stream as well. The stuff was _everywhere._

She wasn't the only one wet. _Ha, get it?_ But no, a few of her fellow freshmen, mainly Kawahara and Fuduka, had joined her for a dip in the ocean between their lunch break and dinner. No one else shared the anticipation Hana held for the ocean, but she was simply happy she'd gotten to relive a version of her childhood vacations.

After making it to her room, Hana stripped the damp swimsuit from her body. The movement made the sunburn across her shoulders burn in warning, but it wasn't something Hana couldn't fix. _Still a bitch though._ Ten minutes later, with a quick dip in the shower and a hefty coat of aloe-vera gel, she was ready for bed. _Theoretically._

In reality, she wasn't any where near ready to go to sleep. The tiny twin bed just didn't seem appealing. Energy still swirled in her veins and Hana _almost_ wanted to go take another dip in the ocean, but the promise of sharks diverted her. _So many teeth._ Instead, she pulled on her softest tee-shirt and fluffiest pair of socks before wandering back out into the hallway.

Surely there was _someone_ here that could entertain her.

 _A girl can only hope._

That hope turned out futile, considering the only person she ran into was Hyuuga and he was on his way to practice. Hana _had_ offered to tag along, but in a surprisingly mild manner unaccustomed to the captain, Hyuuga informed her he'd rather be alone. He did give her some insight into the locations of her other teammates. Namely Kagami, who held the most promise of entertainment.

Navigating the maze of the resort hallways was a pain, but it eventually proved to be successfully. Though she'd _really_ need to map this place out for future reference. When Hana found Kagami ten minutes later, he was unsurprisingly accompanied by Kuroko. _Such a cute bromance._ As quietly as she could, Hana fiddled with the door handle before sliding open the glass door to peer at her friends.

The two boys were situated on the back steps of the resort, staring out across the bubbling sea. Nigou slept against Kuroko's left hip while Kagami sprawled out a few feet away on his right. Unlike Kuroko, the redhaired ace was laying against the wooden deck and lobbing a basketball in the air above his head. As she stood observing, a chill sunk in through the doorway and Hana tugged her gym shorts a little further down her legs.

"Hey," for some reason, she felt it was appropriate to whisper, "Can I hang with you guys? I'm bored as hell."

Despite her attempt at easing herself into focus, Kagami still jumped. Subsequently, the ball he'd been tossing dropped straight onto his nose and the ace shot up with a muted curse, "What the hell, Imamura?"

"Don't blame me for that, Taiga," scuffling outside, Hana darted over Kagami's legs before collapsing in between the two boys. Reaching across Kuroko's lap, she gave Nigou a scratch with her response, "That was karmatic retribution."

"For what?" Due to his sore nose, Kagami's response was nasal, "I haven't done anything."

 _Really?_ Hana raised a brow, "Hyuuga would beg to differ."

"What are you—" It took a second, but eventually Kagami slumped in defeat, "Oh, forgot about that."

While they'd been chatting, Kuroko took the time to catalog Hana's appearance. The focus he'd been observing the ocean with was now fully transferred onto her and when Hana turned to him, she was a bit disconcerted by the intensity. _Hello to you too, dude?_ While she was alarmed, she wasn't surprised. He'd been especially observant since their mini-falling out.

Meanwhile, head tilting the slightest inch, Kuroko questioned, "Are you not tired, Imamura-san?"

"Nah," deciding to forgo his probing, Hana stretched her arms over her head, "I can't sleep in new places, it throws off my mojo."

After retrieving his fugitive basketball, Kagami sat it in his lap before straightening up, "You too?"

"Yeah, I think it's a side effect from traveling so much as kid," her shoulder let out a satisfying pop and Hana sighed in relief, "Time zones and shit, you know?"

Moving his attention back out to the horizon, Kuroko offered a considering hum, "I wasn't aware you traveled often."

 _Not anymore._ She shrugged, "Used to. It's been awhile now."

"That's how you know English, right?" Kagami frowned at the ball in his hands as he tried to balance it atop his finger, "You're pretty good at it."

"My, oh my," clasping at her heart in faux shock, Hana gaped, "Is that a compliment I hear? My ears deceive me—"

Kagami huffed at the challenge, "Why do I even try?"

"Because your hatred hides your love," now that she was certain her presence hadn't interrupted anything important, Hana tucked her legs underneath herself and leaned against Kuroko's shoulder. _Look at me, being all touchy. Kise is rubbing off._ When he didn't complain, she settled in, "It's not that big of a deal, I just practice a lot. Most of the novels I read are American. How'd you learn Japanese so well?"

"I grew up here," the ball spinning on his finger wobbled threateningly and Kagami cursed as he tried to straighten it out, "I didn't move to the states till third grade."

"How is it there?" Kuroko twisted a bit until Hana's head rested against his collar bone instead of his shoulder. From her peripheral, she saw him glance at Kagami, "I've always intended to visit one day."

"Not much different, it's faster here I guess," that was all Kagami could get out before the ball drifted off his finger and fell into his lap. His massive palm slapped the top in frustration, "I used to be able to do this, what the hell?"

"Don't get so upset about it," blinking at him from her huddle of comfort, Hana raised a brow, "You just need to clip your nails. That's what Midorima does. He's kind of anal about it actually."

"Huh," with a side glance in her direction, Kagami brought a hand up to his face and squinted, "You have any clippers, Imamura?"

"That depends," Hana removed a sock clad foot to poke him in the thigh, "Want to go grab me a glass of milk?"

He didn't even pretend to contemplate, "No."

"Pleasee~" her toes wiggled against his thigh and Hana laughed as he pushed her away, "Come on, Taiga. You know you want to."

When she tried to nudge him again, Kagami managed to snag her ankle. _Well, that's not good._ Giving it a threatening squeeze, Kagami shoved her leg to the side before scoffing, "Maybe if you stopped calling me that, I'd think about it."

"I won't do it for a whole twenty-four hours," when he shot her an incredulous look, Hana rolled her eyes, "Come on, I keep my— most of my promises. You know that."

 _Take the bait, you know you want too._ Hana tried to look guiltless when Kagami turned his glower onto her. It wasn't hard considering her contentment, but she still had to erase the hints of her earlier smirk. The expression didn't want to fall though, and Hana could feel the way her lips remained ticked up. She just hoped Kagami regarded it as unintentional.

"All day tomorrow," Kagami leaned forward until his face was a _tad_ too close for comfort, "I'm going to hold you to that, Imamura."

 _Dude, learn some personal space._ Shoving his forehead back with her palm, Hana rolled her eyes, "Aye aye, captain."

"…" With a throaty growl, Kagami smacked her hand away before crawling to his knees. Hana didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on her in distrust as he lumbered to the door. "You're a pain."

"You know you love me!" Her reply was lost as Kagami slammed the sliding door shut behind him. Watching the structure rattle in warning, Hana huffed, "Such dramatics."

It'd be rude to admit it, but she'd practically forgotten about Kuroko during her banter with Kagami. So, when his shoulder moved, she barely resisted jumping out of her skin. _Jesus,_ Hana touched her heart in veneration. _I thought I'd grown out of this by now._ Tilting her head back, she stared up at him. Well, more like his chin, but it still counted.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Hana questioned, "My bad for laying all over you." She was so accustomed to clinging to Uoya, the contact didn't feel peculiar at all. _But now that I'm focusing on it… "_ Want me to move?"

"You're fine, Imamura-san," Kuroko shuffled a bit, but when he'd settled, their position was marginally more relaxed, "You and Kagami-kun are getting along well."

"Yeah, well, we had a heart to heart," since Kagami was gone, she took the opportunity to stretch her legs out fully. The movement also allowed her a chance to shift from her position, yet for some reason, she continued to lean against her friend, "Taiga's a little rough around the edges, but I'm working on it."

His responding attitude appeared cool, but Hana wasn't fooled. The muscles she laid against tightened with his next words, "I see. I was curious as you're referring to him quite familiarly."

"The best way to build a friendship is to force it—" Hana cut herself off when she felt Kuroko's minuscule sigh, "Don't judge— I'm serious. Isn't that kind of what you did back in middle school?"

"Is it?" he appeared to ponder the question for a moment, "I hadn't intended for that."

She couldn't stop the snort, "Of _course_ not."

"I'm being truthful, Imamura-san," sure, he _thought_ he was being honest, but Hana caught that slight flash of mirth. A second of peace fell upon them before Kuroko spoke again, "I truly wanted to get to know you."

"Well, I'll give you a 10 out of 10. Look at this," peeking up at him, Hana smirked as she motioned to their position, "Friendship out the ass."

He made another one of his near-silent noises and Hana thought this one might have been a laugh. For a moment, they said nothing. Kuroko's gaze remained attached to the shore-line and if Hana couldn't hear the cacophony of his heartbeat, she'd assumed he'd fallen asleep. _I could for sure._ Yet, instead of succumbing to her comfort, Hana trailed her stare to the constellations above.

The day's clear sky had transferred itself into the night and now the whole coast line glittered with stars. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and as Hana traced her gaze over the more familiar figures, the stress of the day melted away. _A girl could get used to this._ Her wistful pondering lasted up until Kuroko shifted.

By the way his heartbeat ricocheted, Hana knew Kuroko was going to say something before he did. Which was convenient, because it took a while for the words to leave the safety of his lips, "Earlier today… you almost called me Tetsuya."

"Oh god," whatever ease she'd felt vanished and Hana smacked a hand over her eyes, "I thought the agreement was mutual— none of this embarrassing crap when we're bonding."

 _Come on, Kuroko, take a hint._

Too bad perseverance was one of his specialties, "Imamura-san?"

She figured she could avoid explanation, but even the thought of it seemed impolite. They'd come so far since the Tōō game and their subsequent miscommunications, with both teens opening up the layers wrapped around their subconscious. With his inquisition, it was clear Kuroko wanted to honesty to continue. _Great._ Her shoulders heaved in resignation. _More communication, just what I wanted._

"It was an accident," she groaned the words out, her hand dragging down her cheek in defeat, "I'd had a weird dream last night and I don't know man, don't make me explain this shit. It just— it just came out."

"Ah."

 _Ah?_ Her mind repeated the noise a few times, each with heightening levels of incredulity. The blush that worked itself over her cheeks was so intense that Hana nearly felt physical pain. _Technically,_ that might have been the stuttering of her heart, but she preferred to think on the bright side of the spectrum. Humiliation is better than heart break and all that. _Wait, what—_

"Sorry, Imamura-san," Kuroko's voice broke her thoughts off, "That wasn't meant to be a complaint."

Her response was loaded with weary anticipation, "It wasn't?"

Another pregnant pause came and went before Kuroko finished his thought process, "No, it hadn't bothered me. I understand it was an accident on your part, but the sincerity behind it was appreciated."

"The sincerity?" Hana peered up him just in time to see his stare flicker back out to the sea, "What do you mean?"

"Aomine-kun and Akashi-kun…" he trailed off with another of his minuscule shifts, "It's simply been a while since I've heard my first name spoken without a taunt. Momoi-san tries, but I know her use is due to her admiration."

 _Oh._ Hana fell out of the conversation in reflection. _Okay… We're getting into deeper waters than what I was emotionally prepared for._

Despite the mental apprehension, she kind of understood the stance he was coming from. Unlike her teasing with Kagami, Hana was aware of the intimate origins of someone's name. When Akashi had drawled out her name both in reality and in her dream, the mockery behind it had almost knocked her off her feet. To have your sense of identity twisted like that from _two_ former friends…

 _Well, that's just not okay._ Obviously, one day, her sympathy for the underdog was going to kill her. _But that day is not today._ Or at least, that's what she hoped.

Pushing herself off Kuroko's side, Hana crawled a few feet away before turning back toward him. The confusion apparent on his face sparked when Hana thrust her hand out in his direction, "You know what? Screw them."

"Imamura-san," thoroughly lost, Kuroko blinked down at her hand, "What are you doing?"

"Come on. You deserve this," the encouragement was as much as for her as it was for him. Thankfully, he gave her the benefit of doubt and when she flapped her hand in encouragement, Kuroko eventually grabbed it. _Okay, easiest part is over._ Now _here_ came the uncertainty. Taking a deep breath, Hana squeezed his hand once, "It's nice to meet you… Tetsuya."

She waited, but when no immediate response came, her smile twitched. _I'm an idiot, the biggest idiot in the world._ She'd always known she was a bit too rash, a bit too impulsive, but now she was worried she'd just scored the reward for biggest fool in Tokyo. Her companion wasn't moving, gaze fixated on her hand and Hana _swore to god_ she heard the angels singing their trumpet song for the death of her dignity.

Still, she'd made her move. There was nothing she could do; the ball was in Kuroko's hands now.

 _But boy_ , were his hands slow as hell.

"Thank you," Kuroko's returning squeeze was with a much stronger caliber than her own. _Praise Jesus, it worked._ Despite the attempt at power, it took another moment before he could finish his sentiment, "It's nice to meet you as well, Hana."

"Oh," she coughed in surprise. _Unpredictable little shit._ It shouldn't have thrown her off as much as it did, but that _development_ hadn't been part of her plan, "Oh— okay— that is— It's workable?"

Removing his hand, Kuroko blinked back at her. The doubt mirrored in his expression was almost endearing, "Is that okay?"

 _Was it okay? It damn sure felt okay…_ The sound of her name had jolted through her system, lighting her nervous system aflame with a weird dash of apprehension and bliss _._ Yet, that minuscule sample also brought back her dream with a new prophetic flare. Faced with a new barrage of uncertainty, Hana chose to ignore the foretelling sensation.

She'd handle whatever happened _when_ it happened.

"Works for me if it works for you," so, instead of worrying about the details, Hana grinned.

If the world didn't work in absolutes, why should she?

x

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 **Normally I respond to reviews here, but with how long it's been I'm worried that would just be confusing for this round.**

 **I just wanted to let you guys know I've read all of them (multiple times) and that they were a big motivator for me to get out of my little writing slump! Thank you guys, you've all really done more than I could ever hope for!**


	36. Chapter 36

So it's been a minute since I last updated, but I come with _good news!_ Since I've taken this second-slightly-shorter-hiatus I've been able to queue up four (!) chapters! So the _tentative_ schedule ( _I say tentative because life can suck sometimes)_ is an update on the 15th of each month! And if this writing speed continues and I don't run through my queued chapters too fast, my goal is to start updating on the 15th and 30th of each month.

Anyway, in other news, here's a new chapter! Still a lil filler-y and my writing is probably not quite up to what I'd prefer, but I've got to flesh things out before we get into romance land. I've been viewing training camp as the middle of the story, so we're finally on the road to ~ _development~_!

Also, thank you guys for sticking around! I couldn't do this without you!

 **Warnings: bad language, seriously bad editing (forreal ya'll), and occasional violence.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._

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Revelations

At six o'clock, bright and early the next morning, Hana realized without a doubt that she'd never be the perfect wife. Cleaning, she could handle. Respect? Well, that was always give or take. But, cooking? While it had never been an issue before, she was beginning to, how one might say, _loath_ the process _._

Though… it might be her company mistakenly contributing to that fact.

"This is sexist, just to let you know," carefully sliding the metal pan into the oven, Hana's mouth twisted into a grimace, "They have hands, they can cook, they should be helping. You know what— _lets go wake them up."_

"Not yet, Imamura-chan."

"Please?"

" _No._ "

With a resigned sigh, Hana shut the oven door none too gently, "They need to know how to cook just as much as we do— if not _more._ Have you seen the stuff Kawahara eats?"

Though, Hana had to be fair. The team never truly volunteered her for food-duty. She figured that decision might have been influenced by her father's cupcakes. _Like father, like daughter and all that._ Unfortunately, Hana had the rotten luck of female genitalia and, as such, had to room with Riko. Someone who happened to be notoriously loud in the morning.

Which was how she ended up here, trying _and failing_ to save her teammates from food poisoning. An action worthy of the highest medal of honor, since Riko's idea of a traditional American breakfast could surely use some work. _Speaking of…_

"Wow," moving up behind her and glancing over Riko's shoulder, Hana grimaced, "Uh, that's a lot of ketchup."

Pausing her tomato assault, Riko gifted her a concerned look, "You think so?"

"Well, I guess it depends on what you're making," with one last worried look at the mess atop the counter, Hana continued her path toward the kitchen sink, "Erhm, what _are_ you making?"

"… eggs?"

"Dear god, no," the facet flicked on with Hana's sigh, "Ketchup doesn't— _ew_."

Head slumping, Riko plopped her hands against the table with a drawn-out moan, "I messed up again?"

 _Eh. What's the nicest way to say this?_ Hana's nose scrunched as she washed the remaining flour off her hands, "It might not be that terrible."

"You don't have to cheer me up, Imamura-chan. You're not very good at it." Hana faltered at her coach's admittance. _Stab me in the heart, man._ Turning her back to the counter, Riko pouted in Hana's direction, "How'd the muffins go?"

"They're in the oven," tilting her head over her shoulder, Hana squinted at the clock above the stove, "Ten more minutes, maybe. You should go ahead and restart the eggs— I'm down to help."

Okay, that was a fib. She wasn't down to help, but she'd suck it up and go through with it. _Because how can I say no to that?_ The pout that previously stained Riko's cheeks managed to transform itself into a beaming smile and Hana's heart practically melted. Jesus, she _really_ needed to work on this particular weakness.

"You don't mind?" Riko didn't wait for her to answer before she dumped the ketchup-soaked eggs into the trashcan, "If you help we can finish the bacon and we'd probably have enough time for pancakes too— Hyuuga-kun is going to eat his words!"

Wringing the towel over her hands, Hana blinked, "Uh… not to burst your bubble or anything, but that's a bit ambitious for your— _our_ skill level."

"Come on, Imamura-chan," slapping the spatula into her palm, Riko spun on her heel with a dangerous grin, "We've got this."

As Riko twirled back around and cracked an egg with a _tad_ too much force, Hana blinked again. _I've created a monster._ Maybe there was a specific amount of encouragement you could give someone before they went batshit? _Hmm… that's probably how Kagami was born._ Those curious thoughts swiftly trailed off when the condiments started flying.

 _Awh, hell._ Hana tried to grab the coach's attention, "Hey, Riko? Eggs don't need sugar—"

"That's not for the eggs," Riko didn't pause with her reply and Hana snuck a step back in defense, "It's for the bacon."

 _Thanks for the clarification, coach._ Taking another step back for good measure, Hana narrowly avoided a rouge piece of cabbage launched into the air. That was the start of the barrage. Three minutes later, she'd seen vegetables, fruit, and the occasional bread product. Hana even thought she spotted some cheese in there. _That poor, defenseless food._

That train of thought reminded her of Riko's earlier statement and when the coach started to turn around, Hana scratched the back of her head in mild concern, "Uh… bacon doesn't need—

A pause.

"Where the hell did you get a knife? Riko! _We don't need a knife!"_

X

Apparently, she was wrong. Knives were useful for more than Hana figured.

Like waking up their teammates.

Once the cooking was done, the aforementioned wakeup call began. Each door in their team's hallway had been kicked open before Riko marched into the room, ketchup stained apron and all. The coach's hair was twisted back with a rag to highlight the grin on her face which could only be considered demented. One also couldn't forget the knife's appearance.

Stephen King would be proud.

All in all, with the image displayed before her, Hana almost felt sorry for the boys. It wasn't their choice to wake up in a horror movie. The terrified faces gaping back at her from the cover of their sheets further cemented that pity.

Yeah, it'd probably be in her best interest to vacate.

"Sorry, Izuki!" Slipping through the door after Riko, Hana waved a sheepish hand over her shoulder, "Didn't mean to make Tsuchida scream!"

But _boy_ , was it a scream.

Three rooms and a few heart attacks later, most of their teammates were awake and only one room remained. Up ahead, Riko's arm swung as she walked. Hana couldn't withhold a wince as the elder girl cut the corner. Her earlier remorse spiked for the last duo as the girls moved down the hallway, but Riko held her knife a tad too familiarly for comfort and Hana decided to keep her objections to herself.

"You two!" Riko's voice echoed down the bend and Hana sped up to see the incoming smack down, "Everyone's in the cafeteria waiting for you!"

Despite not being one of the voices she'd expected, the resulting yelp was strangely familiar, "What kind of school do you go to, Kuroko _?!"_

 _Best not to worry about that now._ Hana's eyes were solely for Riko as she twisted the corner. Because just as she'd feared, the coach was holding the knife up, it's serrated edge leveled toward Kagami and Kuroko. _We really need to stop these homicidal tendencies._ Mind so focused on reining her coach in— _seriously since when was I the babysitter—_ Hana didn't take too much stock in the additional faces in the hallway.

Instead, she volleyed for possession of the weapon, "So I know running with scissors is bad, but I'm really figuring running with knives is a hell of a lot worse. The uh— stabby stabbing and all."

It was better to just assume Kagami's resulting scoff was of agreement.

"Huh?" While Hana still hadn't quite registered who the surprise guests were, Riko was much faster on the uptake. Unfortunately, the coach still held her knife, "Sorry Imamura-chan, I didn't hear you… but, Shutoku's here?"

As her coach's tone pitched into ambiguity, Hana stumbled. _Fickle bitch, aren't you fate?_

Because, _that_ ,Hana knew what that meant. That meant undesirable things for all parties involved. Unable to control the urge, she flicked her eyes to the two figures located behind Kagami and Kuroko. Dual gazes met her own, one gray and one green, before they simultaneously fell down to her shirt.

An action which was certainly unexpected given the company.

Maybe her fourteenth birthday wish came true after all. _Have my boobs finally grown?_ As their staring continued, the idea grew more was even debating on the dignity of preening when Midorima chopped the head of her ego off and trampled it to the ground.

"Is that…" making a strange combination with his own green hair, Midorima blanched, "You're…"

She had to say, disgust was not quite the expression she wanted people to view her chest with.

"Imamura-chan?" Takao's question trailed off oddly, "Are you guys… bleeding?"

 _Am I?_ That jolted her out of her down at herself, Hana huffed at the red flecks that dotted her sleep shirt, "Damn ketchup."

 _Why couldn't it have been boobs?_

"Did you just say," Takao could only stare. For once it seemed his smart mouth failed him, "Ketchup?"

"Yeah," trying to scrape some of the flecks off, Hana grumbled. There went her new plans for world domination. "Your ears are big enough, you really should have caught that."

 _Stupid eggs._ Releasing a reluctant sigh, she dropped the edge of her shirt before gifting Riko a reproaching look. The coach had the decency to look abashed, but her attention mainly resided on the two Shutoku players and, as if sensing the appraisal, Midorima pushed up the bridge of his glasses. The blush that now dotted his cheeks was only a mild balm to Hana's burnt ego.

"My ears?" Hands clamping over said appendage, Takao shot a look to the boy behind him, "My ears aren't big! Right, Shin-chan?"

"Imamura," breaking into the bickering and ignoring Takao's futile plead for assistance, Midorima peered down at her. Hana wasn't quite sure how to describe his expression, so she settled on neutral, "It's a surprise to see you."

There was a snort. In the background Kagami scrubbed a hand through his hair, "What type of greeting is that?"

"Better than one of yours," Hana quipped, smirking when Kagami's chest rumbled _. Always such fun._ Instead of furthering the instigation, she twisted her attention back toward Midorima, "You too. I'm guessing today's a shit day for Cancers?"

Mouth pinching, Midorima nodded in slight resignation, "As it seems. Oha-Asa is correct yet again."

"Spring's always a bad time for water signs," Hana offered with faux wisdom. Her recent horoscope binge had yet to fail her, "Too much change in the air."

A green eyebrow rose in what could have been surprise, "That's true. I wasn't aware you understood that aspect of astrology."

"What can you say," her shoulder jerked up in a mimicry of a shrug, but the sharp cut of her lips betrayed Hana's mirth, "Know thy enemy and all that."

 _Caught you off guard, huh? Sweet._ It felt good to be a step ahead of him. It didn't happen nearly often enough.

The weight of his stare dragging down her face was all the information Midorima's response offered, "I see."

Meanwhile, having watched all the round-about flirting he could take, Takao leaned conspicuously toward Kuroko and tried to whisper, "Is she trying to out Shin, Shin-chan?"

"I can hear you, you know?" Hana drawled as she skimmed her gaze away from her former-slash-renewed friend. Takao didn't appear ashamed, instead his grin only grew as he rested an arm across Kuroko's shoulder. _If only he'd spontaneously combust._

"Sorry, Imamura-chan," Takao teased, eyes lighting up with impish delight, "Didn't mean to distract you. Please continue flirting, I insist."

Midorima's face twisted into what could almost be described as a snarl, "Takao."

" _You—"_ on the other end of the spectrum, Hana did indeed snarl, "Keep your voyeuristic tendencies to yourself."

Takao's head tilted, "Since it's coming from your end, wouldn't it be exhibitionism?"

"I swear to _god_ , Takao—"

"I believe she's just teasing Midorima-kun," Kuroko's statement was innocent enough. Just a simple subject change to divert the incoming storm. Yet, there was no preparing for the reaction his next words wrought, "Hana tends to do that often."

For the barest hint of a second, the matrix decided to glitch— a full out halt in the time space continuum. _He did not._ No body breathed, no body moved as their little minds worked to compute. _Oh god, the little shit did._ As Hana struggled to process what this untimely reveal might provide, the world chose to skip back into motion.

"… _woah._ A plot twist! _"_ Takao choked on thin air before he fell apart in stunned chuckles, his body weight draped across Kuroko's back, "Kuroko-kun and Imamura-chan are getting close? Who knew~"

When she gifted Takao a nasty glare, Hana caught sight of Midorima standing to his left. _Shit on stick._ Whatever emotion she'd been expecting from him during this moment wasn't the one on his face. She'd been prepared for annoyance, judgement, and maybe even surprise, but the blank sheen that rested over his mien provided none of that.

 _Yeah, just gonna forget I saw that._ She wasn't going to scrutinize the thoughts that lurked beneath that façade, so instead her glare jerked itself onto the safest party of the situation.

But even Kagami seemed stunned at the new greeting. When his expression eventually morphed to exasperation, red eyes flicked between the two of them, "Is that why you made me get you milk last night? So, you two could be alone?"

" _No!"_ Hana snapped, "That's not—"

Without pause, her denial was destroyed by Kuroko's simple, "Yes."

"Tetsuya— _Kuroko—_ "Hana cut herself off. _Add fuel to the fire, why don't you?_ All eyes rested exclusively on her and, as the scrutiny continued, the blush on her cheeks sneaked its hue to her chest, "That— This isn't helping."

"I'm sorry," Kuroko blinked back at her, his sleep mussed appearance gifting him innocence while simultaneously looking awfully punchable. "I must have interrupted the moment wrong."

"No! I just— I just—" fisting her hands through her undone hair, Hana made a weird hissing noise. _I never should have woken up this morning_ , "I just wanted a glass of milk!"

Breaking the growing strain with a grin of pure wickedness, Takao shuffled on his toes, "I bet Kuroko-kun helped—"

And _there_ went the last straw of her morning's already tested patience.

With that little snarky jab, Takao signed and sealed his very own death note. The deal was done. As if sensing the incoming doom, Takao graciously choose to cut his own sentence off. His mouth twisted into something like regret, but the lingering smirk that dragged up his lips ruined any intention of forgiveness. _It's too late, fate has spoken._

"Takao," Hana didn't even blink as she sauntered forward, "Let's have a chat."

"Imamura-chan," she'd mostly hung in the background so far, deciding it was best to let the underclassmen sort this out, but now Riko hummed with uncertainty. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, coach," sidling up to Takao's side, Hana intertwined her arm with his own, "I just need to have a face to fist with this little cretin—"

"Did you just say face to fist?" Takao's slate gray eyes shot open in surprise, "That's some violent language!"

"You think that's violent?" Her foot twitched against the tile flooring before Hana propelled herself forward, prey attached to her wrist, "We really need to broaden your horizons."

It took her moment of hesitation, but when Riko realized Hana _wasn't_ kidding nor stopping, she trailed the duo toward the hallway exit, "Imamura-chan. _No._ "

 _Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission._ Hana threw her reply over her shoulder as she ducked out the doorway, "Don't worry! Takao just needs a little bit of facial reconstruction! We'll be right back!"

"Aghk!" It said something about his self-preservation that Takao only now chose to try and slip away. Hana's grip simply tightened; it was too late for mercy. It was a fact Takao seemed to notice as well, "I was just kidding— come on, Imamura-chan, you know that—"

"We need to go back to break—" Riko paled when still Hana didn't halt, "Imamura-chan! Wait!"

" _It'll just be a second!"_

"Shin-chan!"

With a final cacophony of clatter and a hair-raising scream, only three boys remained in the hallway.

Kagami, who wasn't quite sure how he found himself to be the sanest in this situation, rubbed at the back of his neck, "Should we…?"

He wasn't awfully surprised when a response never came and the strain in the area only spiked. Registering the silence, crimson eyes zeroed in on the tiled path his coach and manager vanished down and for a millisecond, he deliberated following in their example. There was only so much chaos he could take this early in the morning, and despite the recently passed debacle, Imamura didn't seem to be the worst option.

Though that indecision momentarily abated when Midorima spoke, "Kuroko."

"Great," Kagami grunted before steeling himself to wait out the incoming show. He knew that tone, "… here we go."

If there was one thing he understood about the Generation of Miracles, it was that their lives orbited through a cycle of self-inflected angst. It appeared Midorima was of no exception.

"Yes, Midorima-kun?" The barest tilt of his head was the only accompany to Kuroko's acknowledgement.

Yeah, Kagami wasn't fooled.

"You and Kise…" behind the sheen of his glasses, Midorima's eyes narrowed. He declined mincing his next declaration, "Whatever infatuation you two seem to hold with Imamura needs to be reconsidered."

With only a blink, Kuroko managed to display _just_ the right amount of condescension, "Why is that?"

"Akashi—" he wasn't given the chance to finish.

"Akashi-kun is no longer our captain," though his stance was lax, Kuroko's fingers flexed, "and he isn't yours, Midorima-kun."

Midorima shifted unconsciously, "That isn't the issue. I'm simply warning you," again, the pad of his thumb pushed at the bridge of his glasses, "No one will win if you continue to pursue this, neither Imamura or yourselves."

"That's true," Kuroko conceded. Somber blue eyes fell to the ground as he worked to gather his thoughts, "That type of mindset has and always will be disrespectful. This isn't like Teiko, everything isn't a competition. I understand your jealousy—" Kuroko continued despite the resulting cough, "but your feeling are something you should determine without fear of Akashi-kun's spite."

That might have been the wrong thing to say. His spine ramrod straight in defense, Midorima scoffed, "I have nothing to do with this—"

"Denial has never suited you, Midorima-kun," the way Kuroko blinked almost appeared humored, "You've always been the more rational of our teammates."

Kagami muttered sardonically under his breath in the background, "Oha-Asa freak… rational?"

Again, his input went ignored. If this was how normal conversation between the Miracles worked, Kagami was truly starting to empathize with Hana's plight.

"You're correct," Midorima's response broke Kagami out of his judgement. Somehow, Kuroko's words had managed to dig in just the right amount to stir Midorima's already frothing ire, "Which is why I will say it again; stop what you're doing with Imamura. The only denial being faced is by Kise and yourself. This is only a distraction."

Framed by his pallor, Kuroko's teal eyes widened, "Midorima-kun…"

And _now_ , Kagami'd had enough.

"Man," tried of his background role, he scratched at the base of his jaw. When twin gazes fell on his person, Kagami quirked a dubious brow, "If that's how you talk, I'm surprised Imamura's even sticking around."

Mechanically, Midorima's arms came to rest across his chest. The action was almost enough to disguise the brief flash of panic in his composure, "What did you say?"

"I'm saying, you're all ridiculous. Kuroko I get, maybe Kise too, but the rest of you? You and that bastard?" With a scoff, Kagami shook his head in muted wonder, "I wouldn't have even tried. Screw whatever kind of messed up friendship you guys used to have, it isn't worth your shit."

His own train of speech momentarily halted, Kuroko blinked between his two friends, "Kagami-kun?"

"What?" His crimson gaze cut toward his fellow teammate before Kagami rolled his eyes, "Don't act surprised. All this crap; I've never met so many self-centered assholes in my life. Stop trying to push your issues onto Imamura and handle them yourself."

"I'm not—" Midorima began.

"Whatever," Kagami raised an exasperated hand to halt whatever excuse rested between his lips, "Do what you want; it's your issue, not mine. We're leaving."

And they were, mostly because Kagami knew Riko still lurked around somewhere and was likely seething at their continued tardiness, but also because he really didn't want to talk to Midorima anymore. If he'd ever had the boredom to talk to a blade of grass and convince it to be blue instead of green, Kagami figured the conversation would feel something like this. _Pointless._

"… Goodbye, Midorima-kun," unaccustomed to this type of mental stupor, Kuroko glanced between the two before offering a stiff parting, "I hope to see you soon."

Midorima said nothing, no nod or scowl to express his inner musing. There was only silence. He simply watched their backs turn as Kagami and, shortly thereafter, Kuroko moved down the hallway before leaving him alone. As the seconds click into minutes, Midorima didn't twitch other than a brief moment of emotional relocation and heavy sigh.

When his head felt stable again, an ominously shaky finger pushed his glasses to rest snuggly atop the ridge of his nose. He walked away in the opposite direction without further preamble.

Concurrently, two voices leaked through the bare halls.

"That was unlike you, Kagami-kun."

"I could say the same to you," a snort, "What were you thinking, egging him on like that?"

"Midorima-kun can be dense at times."

"Yeah, obviously… so, Imamura? When'd that— _gah!_ "

"I'm sorry, my arm slipped."

xXxXxXxXx

The morning's activities had already left her nerves a little jumbled, so Hana wasn't truly surprised by the energy rushing through her veins.

The sun was warm, the day was long, her team was here, and best of all Kagami was _gone_. After being sent to his death by Riko and forced to run the beach front all afternoon retrieving drinks, Hana was free from his scorn. _Free from his fury!_ There was no one to temper with her attitude and the beast inside her soul was finally allowed to run rampant.

Truly though, her liveliness wasn't totally of her own making.

A good game always left her a little bit, how we shall say, _exuberant._

It didn't matter if they lost. If the game was played in earnest without spoiling by either team, then Hana could be downright jovial and Riko's spontaneously planned practice game against Shutoku fit that description to a tee. As it was, Hana didn't view the energy shift as a bad thing. She actually quite enjoyed the adrenaline rush after the fact.

That wasn't to say her team felt the same way.

"Catch, Mitobe!"

"On your left, Koganei!"

"Izuki! Water incoming!" Izuki floundered to catch the plastic bottle thrown into the air. Hana didn't pause before launching the next one, "Hyuuga! Head's up!"

"Imamura! No—" remarkably, the captain managed to snag it before it crashed into the ground, "Stop doing that!"

Four waters still tucked under her arm, Hana blinked at him, "Stop doing what?"

"You're supposed to hand the water out," Hyuuga grumbled as he uncapped his drink. He took a long sip before working up the patience to finish his explanation, "Don't throw them. You'll hurt someone."

 _And that's a bad thing?_ When she caught his eye, Hyuuga raised a brow, daring her to refute him. _Ah, dominance battles. My favorite._ The guiltless smile that pulled up her lips was the only warning Furihata had before she launched a refreshment in his direction. Hyuuga twitched. Moments later, a forlorn squawk came as the freshman failed to catch it.

"You guys need to work on your hand-eye coordination. It was kind of shitty during the game," eyeing the tick growing at the center of Hyuuga's temple, Hana took a cautionary step back. "If you can't manage to catch a water bottle, how the hell are you going to intercept passes?"

From his position against the hoop's base, Kawahara whined, "We just finished a game, let us rest Imamura-chan!"

"That'd be stupid," and with that, Hana hurled another drink in his direction. The plastic crunched as it managed to clip his shoulder before Kawahara succeeded in grabbing it. "Training camp from hell, remember? Gotta live up to the name sake."

Sliding to the floor with his refreshment safe in hand, Kawahara grumbled, "Why do you sound so happy about that?"

"Pain's the best motivator," Hana admitted as she edged her way toward Kiyoshi's position, "It also happens to be my personal favorite."

Hyuuga snorted under his breath before trading a look with Izuki, "Only when it's not happening to you."

"Is that disappointment I hear, captain? Sorry," twirling on her toes, Hana's shoulders squeezed themselves into a shrug, "Can't help my kinks."

 _That'll shut you up, won't it?_ After a spit-take worthy of an Oscar, Hyuuga sputtered out a reprimand through scarlet cheeks, " _Imamura!_ "

"Different strokes for different folks!" Thankfully, she was walking backwards so she had plenty of time to dodge the empty bottle shucked in her direction. It still succeeded in skimming the edge of her jaw. "Hey, your aim is improving! Good job!"

There was a groan, but Hana ignored it by spinning around and continuing her jaunt toward Kiyoshi. _Never had a desire to look Death in the face anyway._ Yet, as she focused in on her remaining teammates, Hana's evasion appeared futile.

Riko, who stood beside Kiyoshi across the court, wore a similar murderous expression on her generally pretty face. Her other companions were thankfully not sporting similar demonic appearances; Kiyoshi appeared humored and the two Shutoku boys they'd been chatting with, Otsubo and Miyaji, looked torn between shock and amusement.

Painted a nice-looking picture, that's for sure.

Too bad Hana didn't get to admire the sight.

"Imamura-chan!" The arm that fell over her shoulder caused her to stumble, "Man! Your team did pretty good without Kagami."

 _Just who I never wanted to see again_. Closing her eyes, Hana took a deep breath, "Takao."

She'd been fostering the misguided notion that maybe, just maybe, he'd grow on her. Midorima could put up with him. Maybe he wasn't so terrible deep down inside his slimy little heart. Yet, after their little _chat_ this morning, Hana was more inclined than ever to avoid the parasitic attachment of the hawk-eyed player.

It just wasn't meant to happen. If Hana was water, Takao was oil. They may both be liquids, but by god, they did not mix well.

"You guys still lost, but it was close wasn't it? Even without Kagami-kun," ignorant of the danger he'd just landed himself in, the Shutoku point guard continued to babble, "You must have been practicing really hard."

That little jab sounded much too backhanded to be honest. So, shoving his intruding appendage off, Hana rolled her eyes, "Did you learn nothing from this morning?"

Bringing a finger to his chin, Takao pretended to ponder, "Eh, just that you can be a bit scary."

"Okay, so nothing. You learned nothing. Good to know," ducking around him, Hana continued her path toward Kiyoshi.

" _Ohh_. You're mean today."

"Man— you're right. Must be something in the air," she waved a hand over her shoulder in good riddance, "It'll probably clear up once you stop breathing."

That remark hadn't been said with the intention to make him laugh, but Takao succeeded in doing just that, "Ha! That was actually pretty good, Imamura-chan."

 _Glad to be of service._ Hana didn't offer any further response to his teasing, instead choosing to complete her self-imposed mission to Kiyoshi. Strangely, all was quiet from her companion and she'd assumed he'd trailed off to go harass Kuroko or Midorima. An assumption that was proven wrong when three seconds later the little imp popped back up beside her.

She really needed to stop assuming shit.

"I wanted to talk to you," sneaking back up on her left side, Takao folded his hands behind his neck, "You know, Shin-chan's been out of it all morning."

 _The guilt card, great._ Peering at him from the corner of her eye, she slowed a tad, "Sorry to hear that. Lover's spat?"

"You could say that," his response was a hum as his eyes closed with a smile, "Kuroko-kun really threw him off this morning— he's been staring at you guys all afternoon."

Pace stalling out, Hana huffed. She'd like to say that Takao was overexaggerating, but that wouldn't be true. While his feelings on the mater probably weren't as overt as Takao portrayed, Midorima had been paying close attention to Kuroko during the game. Which was normal; you know with the Miracles and their weird attachment issues.

What wasn't quite normal was the way he'd been staring at _her._ Multiple times during the game, she'd made eye contact with the Shutoku ace. He hadn't even bothered to pretend not to be looking, instead blatantly holding the contact for a moment before turning away. It was an expression he'd worn in middle school during especially problematic matches.

Hana didn't know how to feel about that.

"If you're blaming me for Midorima's mood swings—" Takao cut her off with an empathetic wave and Hana frowned, "Then what'd you want to talk about?"

Takao only shrugged, "That's it."

"… _really?"_

"Yeah," one of his lips curled up and before Hana knew what was happening, Takao had leeched into her personal space, "I just thought you should know."

Her bullshit meter tingled, "I don't trust you. Like… _at all._ "

"Feeling's mutual, Imamura-chan," rolling back on his heels, Takao's grin fell into something of a serious expression, "He might not realize it, but I know Shin-chan _likes_ you—" he smirked when Hana coughed out a denial, "Awhh. Don't be oblivious too, Imamura-chan."

Ire rising at the mockery, Hana's lip lifted in a grimace, "It isn't like that—"

"I think it is," Takao's retort had a lyrical quality to it, "Remember, you care for him, right? Isn't that what you said?"

" _Not that way—"_

His arm flapped in dismissal, "Sure, sure. All I wanted to say is if you mean that, be careful. With Kuroko-kun and that Kaijo player, I don't want to see my teammate hurt, you know?"

"Oh, chill your shit out. I get it," Hana rolled her eyes, trying to dissuade the angry blush that wanted to blossom. _Talk about protective_ , "Nothing's going on between _any_ of us."

"Whatever you say," his grin didn't even flinch at her rebuttal, "Anyway, I'm not sure how this will work out," Takao apparently didn't care for his limbs. Instead of backing off like she'd expected, he had the audacity to pat her atop the head, "But if you can make Shin-chan happy, you should stick around~"

"Maybe I should piss him off then," slapping his hand from her personal space, Hana took a deep step back. _Calm down._ It was time for her to get the hell out of dodge, "Glad we had this chat. Totally made my day. Now, if you'll—"

"Gotcha!" Lifting his hands up in innocence, Takao grinned, "I won't keep you away from your team. Besides, I'm sure I'll see you soon."

 _Not happening._ Narrowing her eyes on his figure, Hana took another step back before continuing her earlier jaunt toward Kiyoshi.

Thankfully Takao didn't follow this time and Hana was able to complete the short path unaccompanied. As each step brought her closer, Hana's shoulders drooped. Well didn't that just zap the energy out of her? She was tempted to look to Midorima's position, but just couldn't bring herself to risk it.

 _God, no wonder people don't like talking to my dad._ If that was how the third-degree felt, Hana could safely say she never wanted to experience it again. Her chest deflated with a sigh as she finally made it to Kiyoshi and she handed him the water bottle without a second thought. The earlier joviality was gone, replaced with a fluttery apprehension. _Takao's wrong._

It wasn't like that. _It couldn't be like that._ She cared for Midorima and maybe he cared for her in some kind of odd, detached manner, but it wasn't any more than that. Same with Kuroko, same with Kise. _They were friends._ Her heart twisted around the word experimentally before Hana shoved the curious thoughts away. _Friends!_

"Imamura," Kiyoshi's brow lifted as he peered down at her. Beside him, Riko's face was similarly concerned, "Are you okay?"

"Dandy," Hana's lip raised involuntarily, "Just a little friendly visit from the neighborhood menace."

Otsubo frowned. At his left Miyaji also observed the dynamic, his gaze flickering to Takao and back. The two Shutoku players traded a look before Otsubo questioned, "Sorry about that. Was Takao bothering you?"

Turning her attention to the rival player, Hana shrugged, "Nah, not really. Nothing a good punch couldn't handle anyway," this time she looked toward Miyaji, "Or a pineapple apparently. You've got wicked aim."

Otsubo blinked. Miyaji blinked. Riko groaned. In the background, Kiyoshi snorted.

Hana did none of the above, instead choosing to focus her attention on the clearly thrown Shutoku players. _Ah, spite. It's a great motivator._ Because while she may not be able to take her annoyances and emotional grievances out on Takao, she sure as hell could take her revenge out on other more _unsuspecting_ member of his team.

Besides, her tried and true method of ignoring troublesome emotions was to ignore the absolute _hell_ out of them. She could only hope her problematic coping mechanisms didn't fail her now.

"I don't think we've personally met before," skipping forward a step, Hana thrust out her hand, "Imamura Hana. Don't worry, I know who you guys are— Midorima's told me a few not so terrible things about you."

 _Absolute lie, but okay._ Despite this Otsubo still took the step forward to return her greeting. It didn't escape Hana's notice that Miyaji didn't do the same. "We've heard a few things about you as well."

Her lip twitched. _Figures he'd ruin my fun._ Spy team plans would have to wait. With her retort, Hana's gaze peered beneath the two Shutoku players to scan their side of the court, "They better be good things or else I might need to have a chat—"

The end of her sentence floated off as green eyes locked on green. About fifty feet away, Midorima stood near his bag with a small holographic journal in hand. Belatedly, Hana categorized that as his lucky item for the day, but the majority of her focus was locked on the dip between his brows as he stared back at her. His expression wasn't outright observation, but almost appreciation— _Nope, go back to ignoring!_

"— Imamura-chan?"

She jerked back into attention with a flourish. Riko was peering at her in concern and Otsubo had his brows raised with confusion. _Way to make an impression._ Hana flushed, "Huh? Shit, sorry. What were you saying?"

The Shutoku captain smiled a tad, confusion leaving his face as he repeated himself, "I was just asking how long you two have known each other."

"Ah," Hana trailed off ineloquently. Unbidden, her gaze fell back to Midorima. Thankfully his attention was else where this time and Hana was able to gather her thoughts in relative peace. That still didn't stop her throat from feeling parched as she admitted, "We've been friends for a while."

He replied, but Hana wasn't ashamed to admit she wasn't listening.

Her eyes were stilled locked on Midorima and a frown to match his own built itself upon her lips. As if feeling the continued observation, Midorima turned his head in her direction, pausing from where he'd bent to retrieve his gym bag. Unlike the solemn moment they'd shared before, this time Midorima raised a brow in sardonic question.

The change of pace was finally enough for Hana to roll her eyes and look away.

 _Yeah, there's no way Takao's right._

xXxXxXxXx

It was five hours after Riko sent him to retrieve the team's drinks and Kagami felt like he'd died.

He'd never had to run so much in his _life_.

Everything ached. From his hair to his toes, there wasn't a single portion of his body that didn't feel as if it'd been soaked in a vat of acid. He hadn't even been able to take a dip in the community pool to relieve the pain. His skin still sizzled with the begins of a nasty sunburn and the tendons in his legs cried with every step he took. Lifting his arms above his head in a stretch, Kagami groaned before continuing his movements down the hallway.

He almost wondered if the pain was doing something to his mental state, because there was no other reason he could fathom for _why_ he was doing this.

Honestly, he blamed Midorima. A lot of things today were winding up to be the mosshead's fault. As there wasn't much to do during his run other than think, Kagami ended up ruminating over their previous win against Shutuko in the preliminaries. From that point, his mind moved onto to thoughts of Midorima and their morning confrontation.

It was this train of thought that brought Kagami's attention to the rest of his interactions with the Miracles and a new revelation he wasn't too keen on enacting upon. After reviewing their interactions together, it was now clear that while Kagami knew the Miracles on the court, he didn't understand them or their actions. Hell, he wasn't sure he _wanted_ to, but if he intended to accomplish his goal and beat them, then he needed to rectify that over sight.

Which is why he was wandering down the hallways looking for his wayward manager.

"This is ridiculous," he grunted under his breath, moving out of the way of an incoming tourist, "Where is she?"

Kagami may be used to Kuroko's vanishing act, but Imamura normally wasn't able to evade him this easily. Not like he _actually_ sought her out, but the fact remained the same. He'd gone to every room his team rented, the gymnasium, the cafeteria, and even the beach. Still, no sign or sound that hinted toward the manager.

With a shake of his head, Kagami turned at the end of the hallway and headed toward the exit at the base of the hall. He was tired enough already. If he couldn't find the manager now, he'd search her out in the morning after he'd had a good night's sleep. The idea further cemented itself in his head as he shouldered the door open and stepped into the chilled night air.

Only for the door to hit something squishy on the push outwards, " _Okay._ Ow? What the hell—" a face peered around the door and Hana gaped back at him, "Tai— Kagami?"

"Imamura," equally confused, Kagami stared back at her. It only took a minute for his irritation to return, "Have you been out here this whole time?!"

He was only slightly surprised by her answer, "Uh… maybe? Hell, I don't know. I wandered around for a bit. Needed to think."

"About what?" Kagami winced. _God._ It actually sounded like he cared. "Did you even tell coach where you were?"

Green eyes rolled as Hana stepped out of the way of the doorway, allowing Kagami to come out onto the hotel's front steps with her. They were underneath the smoker's veranda and Kagami wrinkled his nose at the cigarette butts that littered the trashcan beside her. Above them, the rickety lightbulb flickered before tinting their hair orange.

Meanwhile, Hana's tone hedged between annoyance and resignation, "Of course I did. I'm not an idiot."

He only snorted, "Debatable."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, jackass," leaning against the wall, Hana raised a brow in his direction, "How was the run? Hellish, I hope."

"I handled it." Looking away from her and out to the front parking lot, Kagami frowned. He hadn't forgotten her earlier shift in conversation, "Why are you out here again? It's late."

 _What's with everyone's protective shtick today?_ One of her shoulders shrugged, hiking up the old sweatshirt she'd changed into, "Sorry, _dad,_ still can't sleep. I'll probably be up late all week— it'll suck ass."

"Huh."

 _Well, that was anticlimactic._ Hana twisted so she could see him clearly, ignoring how her hair caught on the edge of the building's brick. Her nose wrinkled at the sweat that still dripped off his back and shoulders, "Did you seriously just get back?"

"A little bit ago, yeah," Kagami crossed his arms over his chest, "How'd we do against Shutoku?"

Her lips tilted down a tad, "We lost," after a minute Hana pulled a disgruntled face, "Takao said we did pretty good though. Managed to block a couple of Midorima's shots, so I consider that a plus."

He side eyed her, "Takao said that?"

"Takao said a lot of shit," she rolled her eyes with a sigh, "But yeah. He's right though. Kuroko's ability isn't doing much without you there and Kiyoshi can only jump so high— his reach doesn't match yours."

A smirk tugged at the tilt of Kagami's lips, "If I was there—"

"Weee," Hana deadpanned, "Still would have lost."

"Shut up," again, Kagami debated the merits of coming to Hana for help. He moved away from the wall and headed for the steps leading to the buildings parking lot, "Aren't managers supposed to be helpful?"

"Aren't players supposed to be useful?" Despite her rebuttal, her brow furrowed when Kagami didn't move any further than the front step. "Why'd you come out here anyway? I figured you'd have passed out by now."

"I wanted to talk to you," he shrugged, realizing how odd the statement would come across, "You could have chosen a less sketchy place to hang out. Can we get the hell out of here?"

"You can get the hell out of here—"

"Imamura," stalling at the base of the steps, Kagami spoke, "I'm serious."

Well, she could see _that_.

Hana still didn't move. _Seriously confusing is more like it._ Something was off about this conversation, and if Hana didn't know any better, she'd say this wasn't actually Kagami at all. In all their time together at school, she could count on one hand the amount of conversations they'd had which hadn't involved copious amounts of bickering. It was like… _three_ if you were wondering.

 _What's with everyone wanting to talk today?_ Eyeing the entrance into the hallway, Hana sighed before turning her attention back to Kagami. _Whatever._ She'd spent enough time emotionally lamenting about out here anyway. It might actually do her some good to talk to someone relatively normal. Or at least have a conversation that didn't send her feelings into turbulence.

So, with a defeated sigh, Hana moved toward him, "This had to be the most ass-backwards way to ask me to hang out."

Further cementing the oddness of the conversation, Kagami didn't deny her accusation. Instead he just began walking as soon as Hana reached his side. _It's like I'm living in the twilight zone._ For a few more minutes the two silently walked around the front edge of the property. The hotel grounds were quiet and, now that she was paying attention to more than her turbulent thoughts, Hana realized the area was a bit creepy.

They were far enough from the main road to lose any outside noise and the hotel clearly didn't spend much money on maintaining their light fixtures. _Side note: make sure to bring a sharp object next time._ You know what, better yet, just keep Kagami around. He'd been acting especially tolerable lately, maybe he'd finally accepted his body guard role.

Speaking of, Kagami looked out ahead as his steps halted completely, "What'd you learn from the game today?"

 _Why's this feeling like a job interview all the sudden?_ Giving the boy a suspicious glance, Hana eventually followed his gaze to the area up ahead. It seemed they'd reached their destination. A dimly lit parking lot laid a few yards away and she mentally released a forlorn sigh at the sight of the basketball net. _Ahh… men_. Why couldn't they talk without physical exercise?

"A good bit I think," ignoring Kagami's huff as Hana swerved past him, she continued her explanation, "Kimura's quiet, he doesn't open up much unless he's feeling competitive. Otsubo reminds me a bit of Kiyoshi… he's got a bit more of a no-nonsense vibe though. Both of them favor their right hand. Miyaji is difficult; he didn't offer up much."

The sound of footsteps forewarned Kagami's reply, "What about Takao?"

 _Ugh._ She didn't even want to think about him. No way was she going back down that train of thought.

"Enough," Hana scoffed as she stepped onto the cracked asphalt of the parking lot, "I've never met someone who talks so much—" Kagami's incredulous snort contradicted her and Hana bristled. She didn't talk _that_ much, "Oh, shut up."

In a surprising twist of fate, he did.

Thrown, Hana sharply glanced his way, but Kagami's attention was on the edges of the court. In the span of seconds, his face had twisted into neutral deliberation, the accustomed frown nowhere to be seen. If anything, Kagami looked solemn. _I foresee drama._ The attitude reminded her a bit of his confrontation with Kuroko and Hana could quite seriously say she wanted no part in that kind of production tonight.

"So…" when Kagami started walking to the right side of the parking lot, she followed. Gesturing vaguely to the area around them, Hana tried to bridge the tension, "Why am I out here?"

Lumbering toward a leftover basketball hiding between the bushes, Kagami let out a sigh. It was clear he didn't want to admit whatever laid in the abyss of his mind, but he did so anyway, "I need to get stronger," he bounced the ball against the ground, testing its air before he sent a loaded glance her way, "Anyway I can."

"Uh…" her response fumbled at his ambiguity, "Are you implying you want… _my_ help?"

"I guess," Kagami's grimace was the only thing natural about this conversation, "Out of everyone, you probably know the Generation of Miracles best. If I want to beat them, I'll need your help."

 _Oh, so it's about them. Swell._ Swallowing, Hana watched the ace almost warily, "What about Kuroko? He's known them longer than me. Besides, this kind of sounds like a shadow and light thing and I'm not down to be a homewrecker— or would it be sun wrecker since you know— shadow and light—"

"You know them all from an opponent's perspective. That's not something Kuroko understands yet," he cut her rambling off.

"Hate to break it to you, but in every anime I've seen this arc always goes to shit," Hana hedged, toeing a crack in the asphalt. She knew she was stalling but she couldn't help it. _Couldn't they just have a nice bonding moment not focused on revenge?_

There was a scoff as the ball bounced twice, "What are you talking about?"

"The _I want to be stronger_ arc," she waved an arm out in explanation, "It always backfires due to the power of friendship or something gross like that."

"You're…" Kagami grasped the ball between his palms with a weary sigh, "Will you stop acting like everything is a joke to you? I'm serious."

Despite his clearly bruised ego, she only shrugged, "Yeah, well, so am I."

"You sure don't act like it," Kagami's head shook in what could be considered self-condemnation, "Forget it. This was a stupid idea."

 _Oh, come on!_

That hadn't been the reaction she'd anticipated. She just didn't think she was up to this. But even Kagami's disappointment would have been better than this… _somber_ bullshit. When did she become such a softie? She used to run her team with ironclad will and now here she was, feeling guilty for making a joke. _Have I mentioned I freaking hate emotions?_

When his mouth opened in the beginnings of another rebuttal, Hana groaned, "Look, I get wanting to be stronger. I just want to make sure you aren't using me— That this isn't about one-upping Aomine. We are _not_ having that type of angst train on our team again."

"No," the air of stale distaste that had begun building around Kagami faded as he dribbled the ball. Instead of looking back at her, he stared at the net with a mask of consideration, "I'm asking because it's my choice. I'm not doing it for them."

 _Well that's a load of bull._ Hana didn't call him out though. Instead, she focused her attention on his form as he lined up to take a shot; his back straight, shoulders bent, and knees lose. The ball bounced in front of his ankles once, then twice, before he palmed it and lobbed it toward the net. For a fraction of a minute, it looked as if it'd go in, but the ball skimmed the edge of the hoop before spinning off the metal and to the ground.

The mountains of Kagami's shoulders drooped, making Hana groan. _Friendship is a pain._

Now she _had_ to do something to cheer the big idiot up.

But what? She took a moment to recollect her schedule before she made any serious plans. There the Inter-High quarter finals in a few days, Kuroko's proposed dinner with her father on Sunday, and then the two months of summer vacation that sprawled between spring semester and winter semester and— Well, there's her opportunity.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she spoke, "What are you doing next weekend?"

"During break?" At her nod of confirmation, Kagami shrugged, "Whatever I guess. I don't have anything planned."

"Good," stepping forward, Hana jabbed a finger in his direction, "Every weekend a few of my old teammates get together to play— you're coming."

Despite her acquiescence, Kagami looked wary, "Why?"

"We all went to Teiko with the Miracles and we all know them from different angles," at her next admittance, Hana had to look away so Kagami didn't catch the mirth in her expression, "and Nūdoru's fast. If I'm gonna help you with this, might as well work on some other shit as well."

It was silent for a few moments as Kagami attempted to process the new information. Hana took that moment to lift her arms over her head in a much-needed stretch. Today had been a longass day. But thankfully, to add some ease to her stress, a few moments later Kagami let out a sigh before losing the drooped edge of his stance. _Thank god, maybe the idiot's back to normal._

Gesturing to the ball, she stepped closer to the ace, "So, is it a plan?"

"Next weekend?" Kagami rolled the ball between his palms as a contemplative furrow built on his brow, "Yeah… it's a plan."

 _Thank god that's over._ It was only luck Kagami didn't glance up in time to see Hana's shoulders fall in relief. But even if he had, she honestly wouldn't be ashamed. She deserved a break. For training camp, this week was turning out to being quite the bonding adventure. Meanwhile, Kagami's back straightened out as he began to dribble.

"I was meaning to ask," his question was punctuated by a timely bounce, "… what kind of person has the name Nūdoru?"

"Oh, come on," taking another step forward, Hana held her hands out in a _give-me_ motion, "Like you've got room to talk, señor tiger _._ "

He didn't respond to her jab, too busy watching her with narrowed eyes. Honestly, Hana was a bit offended. She'd _just_ agreed to help him, and he was already being a judgmental bastard. Well, too late now. A few more steps later and Hana stood in front of the ace. She motioned to the ball in his hands and when he didn't move, tried to retrieve it herself.

A red eyebrow rose as he twisted out of her reach, "What are you doing?" When her movements didn't cease, Kagami took a step back in bewilderment, "Seriously, what the hell are you doing?"

"You brought me all the way out here," taking advantage of his confusion, Hana slapped the ball out of his hands, "I've got some pent-up aggression to work out too, you know."

His attempted retrieval was delayed, "You can't just— _Imamura!"_

"Man, I see why you want help," the words were accompanied by a snort as she moved the ball out of his reach. _Too slow— Just kidding!_ One of his massive paws swiped a bit too close to her face, and she jerked back, "Down boy! It isn't that serious."

Coming to a stop and thankfully pausing his assault, Kagami snarled, "I need to practice, just give me the ball back."

"And you will," jogging down the court, Hana attempted a layup. She wasn't too heartbroken when it missed. The metal chains of the basketball net clicked as the ball was sent bouncing, "Sharing is caring, Taiga."

"Shut up," already in place to receive the rebound, Kagami palmed it before it could go any further, "I told you to cut that shit out. It's barely been a day."

 _And feisty tiger is back in the house!_ Thank god things were back to normal. Hana only lifted a shoulder, "Sempai privileges."

"…" he'd begun to dribble, but his movements faltered as Kagami spat, " _Sempai?!"_

"Don't bitch out now," despite knowing she'd fail spectacularly against his offense, Hana moved in front of Kagami to try and block him. Arms splayed wide, she smirked, "This was totally your idea."

"No," Kagami growled, "I'm notcalling you that."

"Your choice, I guess," she swatted at the ball he dribbled, trying and failing to knock it out of his hands, "But lemme just tell you— the benefits are _awesome."_

He was obviously still agitated. Hana could tell from the pinching of his lips, but Kagami did little more than stare down at her. _I can stare too big guy._ In accordance to her defiant thoughts, Hana glared up at him in challenge. The mutual contact only lasted a second before Kagami rolled his eyes and looked away, but not fast enough for her to miss the smirk that wanted to tug at his lips.

The sight was familiar, but the feelings were not. A nostalgic longing chipped against her heart as blue hair overlaid red until Hana shook the intruding thought off. Instead, she reached forward and tried to steal the basketball again.

Easily bypassing her with one shove of his large arm, Kagami shot the ball into the net, "Somehow I doubt that."

"I doubt you're a natural redhead too," Hana peered after him as he went to retrieve the rebound, "but I never say anything."

Ball safe in hand, Kagami shot her a droll look, "… my eyebrows are _red,_ Imamura."

"But is everything else— _I'm joking!_ Don't throw—" Hana spoke too late. She wasn't in any position to dodge the basketball aimed at her face, " _Dammit_! Dude, ow!"

Cheeks a brilliant shade of scarlet, Kagami yelped, "Don't just say stuff like that!"

"Maybe I would _,"_ she waved to her now smarting forehead, _"If you'd stop throwing things at my face!"_

"I did that after you—"

"This is the _second_ time, Taiga!"

"Maybe that should tell you something!"

" _That you're psychotic!"_

"Me?!"

"Yeah! _You!"_

The resulting battle of wills between the two teenagers was explosive. Yet as their bickering grew more and more pronounced, snarls turned into smiles, mockery turned to teasing, and glares turned into smirks. While the change in attitude didn't halt any of the insults being thrown, it did make the evening almost enjoyable and time passed swiftly.

Neither commented on the growing shift in dynamic.

It was about an hour later when Kuroko came to retrieve them and by that time both teammates were worn out. Kagami had already collapsed atop the pavement and was sound asleep with his arm thrown over his face. Hana, wide awake, was leaning over him and shoving at his shoulder with her foot. She'd been at this for a minutes if her incessant cursing was anything to go by.

As he observed, Kuroko's lips quirked up in gentle smile before he came forward to help.

* * *

 **Reviews!**

 **fantasy.92:** Ahh! Thank youuu!

 **iewz:** I'm really glad to hear you like the personalities! They're always some of the hardest to write! The Rakuzan interaction is going to be interesting! I can't wait either! But as for romance, it's getting here. I just can't seem to write anything other than slow burn. Anyway, thank you for coming and reading and leaving a review!

 **crossforces:** I'm sorry. I nearly cried too, man.

 **Sugarfeather:** Man! What a review! I reread it so many times because I love hearing such intensive reviews! Thank youuu! Speaking of Kagami meeting Nudoru... winkwink it's gonna be coming soon hahaha. (Any ideas of stuff that might happen~?) I think Hana's father is brilliant as well! Again, thank you for stopping by and reading and I'm so thankful for your review!

 **AttackOnFairyTail:** Dude! Thank you!

 **xxjaelee:** DON'T SCREAM ITS OKAY. I'M SORRY I MAKE YOU WAIT SO LONG. Dream Akashi is ship worthy material, I agree hahah. THEY ARE SO CUTE THOUGH. I DO AGREE. You get to see a little bit of jealousy this chapter! More shall come, I promise! But yes, awkward but cute moments are the best! Thank you for your review!

 **Uqor:** Sorry you had to wait so long! I'm going to fix that issue so we won't forget what went down next time! (my baaad haha) Thank you for your review and for sticking around!

 **ADDBaby:** THANK YOU I MISSED YOU AS WELL. Life has calmed down a bit, but university is still kicking my behind black and blue, but I love your helpful words ^^! I LOVE PROTECTIVE DAD TOO. It can be a ship of friendship or love! God knows these little dweebs need both!

 **animefreak112097:** it took a while, but I updated! Thank you for your review! ^^

 **Trisah:** Sorry dude, but I love hitting people with the feels. It's the best hahah. Prepare for more in the upcoming chapters! And yeaaah, that family dinner is going to a be a bomb! Thanks for the review!

 **FabulousElvinBiatch:** I also spent 24 hours rereading your review and smiling because it was just so niceee. As for the Kagami ship, man go ahead! I don't have a probably with inter-story shipping, I just can't promise any action inside the story. Maybe I'll get adventurous and write some AU one-shots... hmm. But no, THANK YOU, for reviewing and taking the time to read my work! It means alot!

 **Imbue-Numinous:** She is the queen of denial and it's crazy. I can't make her accept her emotions for the life of meeee. I missed you as well! Thank you for the well wishes and for the review! Thank you so much for thinking about me!

 **snowlikesstardust:** BOND. Bonding is coming from everyone. By the end of the story it's going to be a mess of bonds lmao. Thank you for the review!

 **OneWhoReadsTooMuch:** Akashi is good at being terrifying, I agree. I hope they survive the future dinner as well. They're too young to die, the ship has just begun. But thank you for the review and for still supporting me! I really appreciate it!

 **95sdawn:** angst can be excessive, I do agree. Sorry I have such a bad habit of throwing it in there hahaha. But I'm glad you like the easy banter! Have to say those two are the easiest to write out of everyone ahah. YESSS. WIG. Your ship will forever sail!

 **NotAnnie:** Uoya and co. are going to be fun to see and we will see... mwahahah. Sorry sorry haha, but yes, she's only called Uoya his first name once during a game. (Don't worry I don't remember exactly when either... this story is really long, no shame in forgetting ahahah) Thank you for the reviewwww!

 **Zynis:** Thank you for the review!The dinner will be coming soon! Promisee!

 **Mary kitten heart:** The reactions are legit going to be my favorite part. Just experimenting with Midorima's jealousy this chapter was way to much fun... like don't even let me get my hands on Aomine. Thank you for your review!

 **Shirjka:** First name basis is adorable. I'm having fun with the bumbling awkwardness. Thank you for the encouraging words though, hearing such kind things really does help push me forward. Those are the type of reviews that I love :) And yeaaah, about that relationship? I'm planning on doing multiple endings and that _will_ be one of them. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I won't leave out singular endings, but from the get go, my intention was an open relationship. Thank you for your reviews! They mean a lot! :)

 **Lady Hummingbird:** Awh, thank youuu! That was so sweet! I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long, but thank you so much for your review!

 **Red Raspberries:** I'm so glad to hear you say the wait is always worth it! I feel so bad that I have to occasionally take these long breaks, but when wonderful reviewers like you tell me such sweet things, it makes it all better! And thank you for the kind words about the chapter! Ahhh, jus thank you so much ^^

 **jeyamendoza:** Girl, I wish I could reply to your whole review! You've included so much stuff and such wonderful commentary that I want to take each sentence and respond to it hahah! First off, I'm glad you liked Akashi's pop-up moment and Hana's dad and Riko's dad should totally go out for a manly mimosa sometime. Kiyoshi and Riko are schemers deep down, I swear. Riko likes cute things and Kiyoshi is just... Kiyoshi... you know they're gonna be shipping their hearts out ahaha. Thank you for being with me always! I always look forward to your reviews! :) talk to you soon!

 **Naliyu:** Yeeeees. THE SHOVEL TALK. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE I ALMOST WENT OVER BOARD. I'M GLAD YOU COULDN"T WAIT TO READ IT BUT MY MORALLY ADULT SIDE IS TELLING ME TO TELL YOU TO PAY ATTENTION IS CLASS BECAUSE I LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU. BUT ALSO THANK YOU FOR DROPPING EVERYTHING AND READING NO MATTER HOW LONG I TAKE. U IZ THA BEST.


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